Kingsman: The Golden Circle Movie Review

Kingsman: The Golden Circle (2017)

Rent Kingsman: The Golden Circle on Amazon Video
Written by: Jane Goldman & Matthew Vaughn (written by), Mark Millar and Dave Gibbons (comic book "The Secret Service")
Directed by: Matthew Vaughn
Starring:  Taron Egerton, Colin Firth, Mark Strong, Channing Tatum, Pedro Pascal, Julianne Moore, Halle Berry, Elton John, Jeff Bridges, Michael Gambon
Rated: R
Watch the trailer 

Plot
When their headquarters are destroyed and the world is held hostage, the Kingsman's journey leads them to the discovery of an allied spy organization in the US. These two elite secret organizations must band together to defeat a common enemy.

Verdict
The sequel lacks the freshness of the original because now we've seen this type of movie. It's bigger in every way, from set pieces to the cast. The tone and humor remain the same. It's a great continuation, but feels bloated compared to the original. It's goal seems to be jump starting a franchise rather than entertain.
Watch it.

Review
I really enjoyed the first Kingsman (2014) (read my review). It was a fresh and self aware spy movie take. The Golden Circle suffers from the excesses of a sequel. This has more of everything, characters, fights, gags, and a longer run time. It lacks the fun and focus. The first one seemed like an attempt at something new. The sequel is primed to create a franchise that I don't want.

This starts with a bonkers fight, Eggsy attacked by a metal armed menace. He manages to best the attacker and enter the Kingsman lair, but this fight unknowingly leads to the end of the Kingsman. Eggsy and Merlin are the only agents left and resort to the emergency protocol, drinking whiskey.
This is a crazy movie, but it just doesn't have anything holding it together. It has more leeway and takes it. Elton John cameos, and while he's solid comic relief it makes the movie bloated.

Harry returns from the first movie by way of the American spy counterpart, The Statesman. They're whiskey drinking, rope toting, cowboys. The creators plan to pursue a spin off focusing on The Statesman.
While Harry was assumed dead, he's back in a plot line that takes way too long to resolve. As silly as this series can be, it takes the Harry plot line too seriously.

This is more, more of everything. There are a lot of ideas, but I would have liked to see it spread a long a couple of movies. This goes for more of everything on top of the first movie and it never feels as creative or new.