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<shakes head>
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I saw this just this weekend. Spoiler free review - it was fun, but not as fun as Kingsman: The Secret Service. Unsurprising, since that movie didn't have anything to live up to. The first film set a very high bar that Kingsman: The Golden Circle probably couldn't have hoped to clear a second time. That said, it by no means crashed into the earth. It's a fun romp, just not nearly as rewatchable or as smart.
My biggest complaint? They killed Roxy/Lancelot, or at least appear to have killed her. If you've forgotten, Roxy's the operative that helped Eggsy and Merlin take down Valentine's satellite network at the end of the first film by blowing it up with a missile shot from a Star Wars-era EVA rig. She was set up to be a skilled operative in the first film, having actually passed her training to become a full-fledged Kingsman before Eggsy did. She didn't get to join him on the assault on Valentine's base, which bugged me at the time, but I found a reason why she didn't on my most recent viewing - Eggsy had a Kingsman bulletproof suit tailored for him already, and it's possible Roxy didn't. As a result, he's the one that has to go in guns-ablazing to save the world. Kinda rubbed me the wrong way, but she got to do something of use during the climax of the first film, and there was promise she would be able to work alongside Eggsy in the second.
And then the mansion blows up. With her inside it. And the rest of the film treats it as though there's no way she made it out. Eggsy and Merlin are the only remaining members of Kingsman. Full stop.
That pissed me off. I wanted to see her kick ass as a competent agent, dammit. The gender politics of the film get worse, if anything - Eggsy has to seduce a girl who knows Charlie, the Kingsman reject who has joined this film's villain (more on her later). Eggsy's in a relationship with Princess Tilde (and I'm really surprised we brought her back, since I felt she was more of a one scene joke), and he calls her to let her know what he's about to do. The conceit is that he'll call it off and find some other solution if she's not OK with it. That part's cool, since that's a level of maturity that first film Eggsy probably wouldn't have had, but the woman being seduced actually suggests that Eggsy give her a golden shower - seriously, what? I suspect they were trying to outdo themselves with Tilde's "reward" for saving the world last movie, but seriously, that's where you went? The spy genre in general and Bond in particular has always objectified women, but the first film was all about examining the tropes of the spy film and reconstructing them - why, then, did we keep the objectification?
Speaking of female leads, let's talk about Julianne Moore. In some ways, it really didn't matter who you got for your villain for your second film, as that person had the unenviable position of having to out-villain Sam Jackson. In that respect, I don't think that it's particularly fair to compare the two performances. She acted the part competently, even if her character's plan makes no bloody sense. She taints the drug supply to force the legalization of drugs so...what, she can become famous and live in the open? That's a weak ass plan. I felt like there was a real missed opportunity here to compare her illegal drugs to the legal drugs - alcohol especially, since we even set up the Statesmen to be in the liquor business. If her plan was to lie about the effects of the tainted drugs and then somehow poison alcohol and tobacco, then that would be a far more powerful drug legalization story than what we got.
So, things I liked? Halle Berry's performance as Ginger Ale was good, as she showed herself to be very competent at running the ops. And as much as I ranted about Roxy's death, I am currently convinced she survived - the scene right before the missile hits shows her leaping off her bed out of scene, so hopefully the third film will show how she survived - AND SHOW HER KICKING ASS AT LAST, DAMMIT. I was actually pleased that they didn't try to out-church scene themselves. A friend thought that the attack on Poppy's compound was supposed to be this film's church scene, and I didn't quite get that. It wasn't quite gory enough, quite violent enough, quite frenetic enough. Also, the cuts to Elton John kicking ass in platform shoes and...whatever the Hell he was wearing in that scene...kinda altered the tone. Plus, as bad as those guys were, they weren't a church full of bigots. If ever there's a time you're rooting for the main character to kill everyone in a building, that was it.
The thing I liked the most, though, is that it didn't feel like they hit the reset button on Eggsy at all. Too many films have the hero forget everything he learned in the first film for the sequel, and this one clearly remembers that Eggsy's learned a lot about himself and who he wants to be. He has less to learn in this movie, but what he does learn is important - he can't place life on hold for Kingsman. I'm hopeful the third film will complete the journey for him, where he has to decide between his job and being a father. Can he put Tilde through what his mother went through? Or will he walk away from the agency that made him who he is?
The fingerbang thing really annoyed me because it was tacky as heck. What? You can't blowgun her or wrap your rig up but instead go for that? Yesh.
Poppy was too passive, especially considering how swift she went down. I know there is supposed to be a Gazelle/Valentine thing but having her toss meat cleavers use soda hoses, to spray acid/poison or use 'kitchen-fu' where she uses the environment to put up a struggle would be nice to see.
Whiskey's backstab should have tilted more to revenge than money. Switching 'raising Stateman shares' to 'They used the memory of my dead wife against me.' sounds kind more plausible.
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There's a part of me that hopes
Also, it hangs a lampshade on the fact that they put her in the refrigerator.
