Ever wondered what would happen if you let a child write a James Bond movie? Me neither, but for some reason Matthew Vaughn has done it twice, and the wacky, downright silly spy spoof is back – but now it’s in America!
I should mention, The Kingsmen: Golden Circle is actually a well-crafted and detailed script not collaborated that is far from childlike. The whimsy and imaginative tone is reminiscent of other big budget parody movies poking fun at the super serious action films without too much substance, and ‘The Golden Circle’ mirrors this trope, focusing on style and flair points over technique. The overall result is entertaining.
Please turn off your brain for this movie. There is a sequence in the first scene where Eggsy (Taron Egerton) our hero is attacked at the Kingsmen Tailors Shop by a rejected applicant – a taxicab chase ensues. To make his escape at a critical point Eggsy performs a four-wheel burnout that makes his stationary vehicle move sideways, defying all laws of nature and kinetic energy. It was at this point I switched off any attempts at logic, and from then the movie made more sense.
Eggsy and Merlin (a.k.a. Bond’s ‘Q’ – Mark Strong) are left hopeless and homeless when a ruthless organisation bombs their headquarters and murders every Kingsmen agent. It is at this moment the ‘doomsday’ protocol is enacted and the two must travel to the USA to confer with their American cousins. From here they team up with Jeff Bridges, Channing Tatum, Halle Berry and Pedro Pascal to take down Poppy (Julianne Moore) – the largest illegal drug manufacturer in the world.
The plot is as farfetched and is structured like the first movie as we follow the escapades of a cartoonish and morally-ambiguous baddie. The ridiculous plot actually raises some interesting ethical questions of human beings’ decision-making and the concept of free will. But Kingsmen is wrapped up in glitz and accessories like rabid robot dogs and nano-bot technology that can almost quite literally bring people back to life. It’s stupid – but who cares?
Despite all this, Kingsmen is a smorgasbord of action, comedy, cliché and sometimes-cartoony green screen graphics that wraps up into an enjoyable ride that will only work if you let yourself enjoy the ride. With plenty of fan service, great acting and directing, The Kingsmen: Golden Circle is just pure fun and nonsense, and quite the palate cleanser.
7/10.
