Kingsman: The Golden Circle

Eggsy (Taron Egerton), the young Kingsman agent, is back in action. And this time he gets to deal with a particularly dangerous enemy who razes the Kingsman headquarters to the ground and wipes out all the agents. Only Merlin (Mark Strong) and Eggsy survive the cowardly attack. In search of answers, the two arrive in Kentucky where they meet the Statesman, a similar independent secret organization from the United States. Together, they set out to take down a powerful enemy that has taken millions of people around the world hostage. But before they can go into battle, a tangible surprise awaits Eggsy and Merlin.

One thing right off the bat: Kingsman: The Golden Circle is not as good as its predecessor. The reason for this is primarily because Kingsman: The Secret Service was a huge, extremely positive surprise with its mix of humor, over-the-top comic book violence, and top-notch Bond flair. And that element of surprise is simply missing from the second installment. While the audience went into the first film without any particular expectations, the sequel naturally has them. They are indeed fulfilled over long stretches, but the big wow effect is just missing, because you get served here exactly what you expect.

The production suffers but also a little from the fact that in some moments is tried too hard to present the action even faster, louder and more spectacular. And that is a bit tiring in the long run. What works really well, on the other hand, is when scenes from Part 1 are quoted and then given an unexpected twist. In such moments, the entertainment value increases significantly. Overall, Kingsman: The Golden Circle is very high, despite some minor flaws. Director Matthew Vaughn has once again concocted a coherent blend of classic agent thriller and comically over-the-top action comedy.

In Julianne Moore, moreover, a wonderfully nasty villainess has been found, acting here with such obvious relish that it's just plain fun. And also the rest of the star ensemble - from Channing Tatum to Jeff Bridges to Elton John (!) - spreads a lot of good humor, which consoles over a few too silly scenes or small lengths. But the stars of the film are once again Taron Egerton and Colin Firth, between whom there is simply a great chemistry, which is underlined by amusing dialogues, first-class choreographed action, but also a few more emotional moments.

If you liked the first part and would like to see more of it, Kingsman: The Golden Circle will serve you well. If, however, the first part was already too comical and too silly, you might be a bit disappointed by this overdose. But since the writer of these lines was a big fan of the first film, there is also for this second - and hopefully not last - Kingsman entry a clear: Absolutely worth seeing!

An article by Frankfurt-Tipp