Film review: Kingsman: The Golden Circle – A worthy sequel
Kingsman: The Secret Service was one of the surprise hits of 2014. Marketed poorly by an unassuming set of trailers, the end result was a film as big a surprise as Guardians of the Galaxy was. We all know what happened. Kingsman senior grossed over $400 million worldwide and a sequel was soon greenlit with…
Kingsman: The Secret Service was one of the surprise hits of 2014. Marketed poorly by an unassuming set of trailers, the end result was a film as big a surprise as Guardians of the Galaxy was.
We all know what happened. Kingsman senior grossed over $400 million worldwide and a sequel was soon greenlit with a much bigger budget. But has some of that old-school charm been lost in the effort to ramp up the stakes?
With their headquarters destroyed and the world held hostage by a villainous drug lord (Julianne Moore), members of Kingsman find new allies when they discover a spy organisation in the United States known as Statesman. In an adventure that tests their strength and wits, the elite agents band together to battle a ruthless enemy and save the day, something that seems to be a bit of a habit for Eggsy (Taron Egerton) of late.
Thankfully, I’m pleased to tell you that Matthew Vaughn’s follow-up, while not bettering its predecessor, manages to stay away from many of the sequel pitfalls we tend to see nowadays.
Opening with a fantastically filmed cab ride through London’s narrow streets, the first sequence sets up the movie perfectly. This is a rollercoaster ride – loud, at times exhausting but completely and utterly exhilarating.
That familiar cast we grew to love in the first film return including the not-so-secret return of Colin Firth’s Harry. It’s disappointing to have seen the big reveal of his survival from Samuel L Jackson’s bullet in the trailers, but it’s still a welcome return and a smart move by the writers – even if the circumstances surrounding his well-being are a little farfetched.
Taron Egerton is once again on top form and Mark Strong is ever-reliable as intelligence agent, Merlin. Of the newcomers, Channing Tatum, Halle Berry and Jeff Bridges make a small, but noticeable impact on proceedings though I would’ve liked to have seen them a little more throughout the 140-minute runtime.
You’re right to gasp. Kingsman: The Golden Circle is a good 10 minutes or so longer than its predecessor and while the action is choreographed to the same exceptional standard of its forbearer, it does feel like a long film.
Nevertheless, if there’s one thing Matthew Vaughn knows how to direct, it’s action. The increased budget this time around means our heroes embark on a globetrotting mission that includes Cambodia, Italy, the US and of course Blighty. The cinematography is wonderful with the Cambodian lair of our main villain being a particular highlight.
Speaking of which, Julianne Moore is absolutely sublime. Described by Vaughn himself as “Martha Stewart on crack”, she is right up there with Samuel L Jackson’s outlandish Richmond Valentine. Watch out for a surprise turn from Elton John that will have you in stitches whenever the film switches to Moore’s mountain-top lair.
With this and President Alma Coin from The Hunger Games on her CV, she’s proving a great choice to play wicked characters – she’s certainly got the acting chops for it.
Overall, there’s far too much in Kingsman: The Golden Circle to talk about in one review, but it’s fair to say this sequel is a big success. With beautifully choreographed action and some cracking performances, it’s more than a candidate for best film of the year. Flawed? Yes. But you’ll be having too much fun to notice. Bring on the sequel.
Kingsman: The Golden Circle rating: 8.5/10
An avid lover of all things film, Adam Brannon has grown up with a huge passion for cinema that can be traced right back to his favourite childhood movie, Steven Spielberg's smash hit, Jurassic Park.
After graduating from the University of Lincoln with a degree in journalism, he now writes film reviews for his own website, Movie Metropolis and for the Press Association.
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The Lincolnite welcomes your views. All comments are reactively-moderated and must obey the house rules. Please stay on topic and be respectful of other readers.
People aged 56 to 59 in the East Midlands, including across Greater Lincolnshire, are being invited to book their life-saving coronavirus vaccination this week.
The latest batch of letters have been sent after more than eight in 10 people aged 65-69 took up the offer of a jab as part of the NHS’ biggest ever vaccination programme.
People receiving the letters are invited to go online to the national booking service to arrange a jab. Those who cannot go online can call 119 free of charge.
They will receive a health status check and a pre-vaccination assessment before they have their jab.
People aged between 50 and 55 are set to be invited shortly after.
This comes after last week nearly a fifth of all Lincolnshire residents have now received their first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine.
The latest NHS England figures show that more than 271,604 doses of the COVID-19 vaccine have been administered in Lincolnshire so far — of which were 5,281 second doses.
Alison Tonge, Regional Director of Commissioning at NHS England and NHS Improvement in the Midlands, said: “We are now inviting people aged 56 to 59 to get their jabs and I urge everyone eligible to come forward as soon as possible.
“The NHS vaccine programme is committed to protecting the country against coronavirus and it is testament to our incredible staff that we can now move on to the next age group.
“The vaccines are both safe and effective, so if anybody who is eligible but hasn’t been vaccinated yet, I’d urge them to go online or call 119 and get themselves booked in.”
A wildlife rescue farm near Gainsborough has vented its anger after two injured pigeons, who it believes were shot, arrived in its care.
Bedlam Farm Wildlife Rescue in the village of Marton said two poor pigeons from the same area/flock were brought in by the people who found them last week.
Both pigeons appeared to have leg issues and were cleaned up. It was then found that the white pigeon had “two large very matted and smelly callus lumps, one on her chest and the other on her leg”.
The pigeons suffered serious injuries. Click/tap to see the full image. | Photo: Bedlam Farm Wildlife Rescue
The other pigeon is described as having a very deformed leg that was almost twisted sideways.
The farm will speak to its vet to see what can be done, but fears both pigeons will need to have legs removed if they are to have any quality of life.
The farm said: “Seeing injured or sick wildlife is hard enough but to know these horrific injuries were done intentionally is just hard to swallow.
“These poor birds were just wounded and left to suffer and die. We certainly do have some vile individuals and who very sadly have to share the same air as us.”
On the first pigeon it said: “Once bathed and cleaned up it became clear that one is an entry wound and one an exit. I have seen a few shot pigeons and removed many pellets, so sadly I’m too familiar with what pellet wounds look like.
“She has little use of that leg at all. The pellet has clearly shattered the leg bone as it went through, leaving the leg to set itself broken which has fused, now she can’t bend her leg at all.”
On the second pigeon, the farm added: “He also has a hole straight through his leg just above the elbow, with an entry and exit wound. Like the other bird the bone has been shattered, leaving it to reset broken and very badly deformed.
“This has left him with no feeling below the pellet hole, so not only now has he got a permanent twisted leg but one is no use to him at all, the leg is lifeless.”
In February, the farm reported that a swan arriving in its care was found “wandering around some fields” at Hemswell.
The swan was taken to the vets where x-rays and blood tests were done. The x-ray showed a pellet in the swan’s head, which was reported to the RSPCA who moved the swan to its East Winch Wildlife Centre.
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