The Definitive Guide to Living in the Capital , Cairo , Egypt

The elaborate and the wacky world of Kingsman returns to the big screen with The Golden Circle; a dynamic but a slightly overcooked follow up to the 2015 sleeper hit, Kingsman: The Secret Service. Co-written by Matthew Vaughn and Jane Goldman – with Vaughn additionally sitting in as the director– there is a lot of fun to be had in this latest over-the-top spy-adventure. However, despite of its best efforts to amp up its game, repetition and predictability are a burden which is never overcome.

A year after the events of the first film, Eggsy Unwin (Egerton feeling a little more comfortable in his shoes this time around) is now living the life as a fully-fledged Kingsman. Taking over the title of Agent Galahad, Eggsy is now also living in Harry’s old home together with his girlfriend, the Swedish Princess Tilde (Alstrom), and has grown accustomed to the routines of the spy organisation. Disaster soon comes knocking, however when the agency receives a devastating blow, courtesy of drug queen Poppy (Moore having the time of her life as the unnervingly charming villain), leaving only Eggsy and fellow agent Merlin (Strong) alive as a result.

Forced to track down their American counterparts, the remaining Kingsman soon make their way to Kentucky where they end up meeting the Statesman’s leader, Champ (Bridges), as well as his skilled agents, Tequila (Tatum), Whiskey (Pascal looking a lot like a young version of Burt Reynolds) and their tech-guru, Ginger Ale (Berry). Also making an appearance is still-alive Harry Hart (as the trailers so foolishly revealed) who is now suffering with a serious case of amnesia. Joining forces, the two agencies must now work together if they are to defeat Poppy, but considering that Harry is not much of a use to them and that there might be a double-agent working for one of the organization, the job won’t be easy to say the least.

Despite its two-hours-and-twenty-minute runtime, The Golden Circle never really overstays its welcome. That said, however, the sheer excessiveness of the picture – mainly the over-the-top and at times cartoony action set pieces that defy gravity in more ways than one – is like a double-edged sword which, on one hand adds character to the story whilst on the other, strips the picture of any real sense of danger – you never feel that the bad guys could win. Repetitiveness is another key setback to the film which, more often than not, relies on recycling some of the plot points of the first film.

However, it’s not fair to say that The Golden Circle is a complete miss. On the contrary, Vaughn was still able to deliver some incredibly engaging and outstanding action-set pieces as well as add new spins to certain elements of the original story. Moreover, the film is worth watching for Moore alone, with the Oscar-winning actress devouring the role of the charmingly psychopathic villain to the bone, creating one of the best villains on screen this year in the process.

The Golden Circle is a crowd-pleaser and although it certainly doesn’t quite shine as bright as the original, it still delivers enough to warrant an enjoyable and easy night at the movies.