Culture Clash

After two years of waiting in between movies, Kingsman: The Golden Circle finally came out. I was stoked to see this new movie because I LOVED the first Kingsman and I couldn't wait for more. After seeing the preview I was really looking forward to it and was expecting the American crossover, but not in the way I thought.

The first movie was full of class and finesse, but honestly the second movie really didn't have that at all. The American group, the Statesman, brought a really different element to this sequel and even though I enjoyed it a lot, I was really searching for that feeling from the first one. I found the Statesman group to be more for entertainment value than to actually make a point about anything. The action scenes with the Statesman in them were very well done and definitely overall enjoyable. Going along with the cowboy theme there's also country music in the movie that can't be ignored, which I also didn't mind (if you know me, you know I'm a country music freak so it was a pleasant surprise for me). The culture clash created in this movie was so hard for me to ignore, because it didn't seem like it really meshed together as good as the idea was. Obviously there isn't going to be a great flow between two cultures like there was in the first one, but I just found that between the two it was almost just too much, and if it was mainly one or the other that might have been better.

The plot line in this movie also dragged on a bit, but was still enjoyable. It wasn't unlike the first one, but there are definitely some new elements to the table that made it feel fresh and different. I feel like there were also more female roles in the second one compared to the first one, which is nice to see (because I'm a female, but honestly not a feminist). Because there were also a lot of new characters, it really separated itself from the first movie and it could honestly be watched without even seeing the first one if a person had the inclination to do so.

The return of Harry Hart (revealed in the preview) was also surprising. Compared to the first one, his character is a lot different. I wouldn't say he played a huge role in this film compared to some of the others, but I was still happy to see he was in this film. I'm always happy to see that fox Colin Firth in any movie. For all the hype around Jeff Bridges and Channing Tatum being in this movie, neither had an overly large role, which was surprising to me. If you've looked at the cast list at all, you've seen Elton John is also in this movie. His addition to the movie was so funny and so fresh, one of the parts I really loved. Taron Egerton really showed off his acting skills in this movie and brought it to a whole new level, which was honestly surprising. I've never seen him in another movie other than the Kingsman movies, but his acting in this one made a way larger impression on me than the first one.

Overall this movie was great to see in the theatre, and I'm so relieved it wasn't in 3D (honestly I'm so over the 3D hype), and I would say it was a solid 8/10. With a ton of action scenes, a star-studded cast, and with it being a sequel, I think it'll bring in a ton of viewers this weekend. With a run time of two hours and 21 minutes, it's a commitment to go see, but worth it if you liked the first Kingsman movie!