In many ways, Kingsman: The Golden Circle is the epitome of everything wrong with the modern blockbuster sequel. On its own, it isn't a good film, but it’s a harmless one: a series of weightless stylized action sequences, complete with manufactured third act tension and a perfunctory attempt at social commentary. I believe that Matthew Vaughn set out to make a genuinely enjoyable follow-up to 2014’s Kingsman: The Secret Service, but the sequel commits all the sins of a heartless cynical, cash grab. It’s bigger, but only in superficial ways. In fact the little meaningful character development found in Secret Service has been all but eradicated in its sequel in favor of leaning further into the irreverent Bond send-up introduced in the original.
Defiance of expectation is important when crafting a good sequel, but not integral. Empire Strikes Back and 22 Jump Street are both great follow-ups to their predecessors – one a substantial departure in narrative and tone, the other an unapologetic remake. It’s all about the build. More essential to a good sequel than narrative surprises or a shift in tone is successfully building upon the elements that worked in previous entries, whether they pertain to story or theme.
When discussing blockbusters, the term “bigger” seems to only apply to set pieces. Remember that neat Quicksilver scene from X-men: Days of Future past? The one set (appropriately!) to Jim Croce’s Time in a Bottle, that took place in a kitchen? The thrill of that sequence was attempted to be recaptured in X-men Apocalypse by: one, extending the length of the gag, and two: raising the stakes. Neither is enough to atone for the fact that we’re basically watching the same scene. Location, length, soundtrack – these are all hollow additions to a film.
Kingsman: The Golden Circle, disagrees. The famous choppy editing approach utilized in the action sequence in the Baptist church from The Secret Service is how the majority of the action is shot in Golden Circle. Moreover, the film seems to think excitement cannot possibly be achieved from people killing each other without the accompaniment of a contemporary pop number.
“You know what this scene featuring a guy getting bludgeoned to death by another guy with a coat rack needs? A little Abba!” The tech and weaponry are more akin magic than gadgets, even playing by spy trope rules. I mean, there’s a device that COMPLETELY heals gunshots to the face for fuck’s sake, which brings me to my biggest gripe with Kingsman: Golden Circle: the return of Colin Firth’s Galahad.
It’s one thing to choose not to expound upon character development in a sequel, but it’s another to go out of your way to erase what development that has already been achieved in its predecessor. Galahad’s death not only informs Eggys growth; it's the catalyst for it.
The lazy reasoning for his return notwithstanding, Colin Firth appearing in anything more than flashback sequences completely undermines Eggsy’s arc from Secret Service. Golden Circle feels hollow because of this. It’s burdened by this dreadful feeling of, “what is this all for?” BIgger set pieces don’t mean anything if the characters, at their center, are interchangeable. Without development, Eggsy is just “action-man.” This is a problem most sequels have, unfortunately – this condescending underestimation of what moviegoers want from blockbusters. Popcorn munchers are the smartest and the most disillusioned that they’ve ever been. Hollywood needs to do better.
