As much as I enjoyed the first Kingsman film, I thought it was a bit messy. The tone was a tad uneven and the performance of Samuel L. Jackson as the villain (with a ridiculous lisp) was distracting at best. But overall, I thought it was a lot of fun, chock full of breakneck action, naughty humor and impeccable tailoring. It was a sexy world in which to escape for two hours.

As with every successful and stylish action thriller these days, there must be another. And there is. A new trailer has just been released for Kingsman: The Golden Circle.

It’s hard to discern the plot from the trailer, but it looks like someone blows up the Kingsman HQ and its bespoke tailor shop front on Savile Row in what appears to be a high-stakes game of British spies vs. American cowboys, complete with ten-gallon hats, denim and a special whip.

Along with the original film’s stars Colin Firth, Mark Strong and Taron Egerton as “Eggsy,” the coming sequel brings Channing Tatum, Halle Berry, Julianne Moore and Jeff Bridges on board. With direction by Matthew Vaughn, who also directed the first movie, one can expect a generous serving of insane action sequences and comically cartoonish violence.

Kingsman undeniably borrows a lot from the Bond universe with its style, gadgetry and clothing, albeit with a more double-breasted bent. But any well-made film that takes place in a handsome environment, promises an engaging story with smart and funny dialog and portrays tough men who put painstaking care into a perfectly-tailored wardrobe is a great way to sell me a ticket.

6 Comments

  1. Thanks for the heads up on this. I also have a semi-complicated reaction to the first Kingsman, for all the reasons you give, and a couple more (like why did they make such a mess out of that “Oxfords, not brogues” thing? Its not a big deal, but it was distracting for me). I really like all the people they have brought in for this one, and Vaughn’s Layer Cake with a pre-Bond Daniel Craig is one of my favorite movies of all time. Hopefully they get some of those kinks ironed out in this go-round and make the movie they should. I am looking forward to it.

    • Because of all this, I watched Layer Cake again last night, and true to form it always goes down smooth. One of my favorite scenes is when a smoldering Mortie finally gets some payback on Freddie Hurst to the ethereal sounds of Duran Duran’s Ordinary World. The juxtaposition of the action and the music in that scene is delightful, especially how it goes from tinny background music on the cafe radio to a lush track on the movie soundtrack when Mortie hits Freddie with that ketchup bottle. In that same way, I appreciate the cartoonish portrayal of the violence in the first Kingsman, which was done in such a unique style by Vaughn et al, (e.g., as set to Free Bird in that evangelical church), so here’s to hoping for more of that same kind of magic in Kingsman: The Golden Circle.

  2. Joel Arndt

    Looking forward to this one, also. I enjoyed the first Kingsman for most of the reasons you state and this round looks as though it’ll be fun (and stylish) as well. Have you seen the pics. of Channing Tatum in a bowler, gray double-breasted pinstripe suit and cowboy boots yet? What a hoot!

  3. Kingsmen was so stylish yet strange when I saw it. I’ll probably check out the sequel this summer as a result … hope it’s good!

  4. Hello again, George [SPOILERS, in case you haven’t watched Kingsman: The Golden Circle yet–Please wait to respond until after you have seen it.].
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    I watched KIngsman: The Golden Circle this weekend. As was said in previous comments, I have also been looking forward to this movie for the “generous serving[s] of insane action sequences and comically cartoonish violence” of the first one, with the unique nods to men’s style that marked the first movie. Unfortunately, I was disappointed. The multi-layered plot was convoluted to the point of distraction, and the action scenes were few and far between. When there was action, it was generally entertaining in The Kingsman way, but on the whole the movie seemed rather half-baked to me and could have benefited from a couple more rounds of writing and editing. I also think Channing Tatum was wasted (introduced well, but then suddenly–and literally–put into deep freeze for most of the movie).

    I went in expecting a good B+ action movie with the unique KIngsman style. What I got was an occasionally fun mess with much less Kingsman-ness than the first go-round. I am curious about your reaction once you have seen it.