

There's abhorrent use of rampant speed ramping that makes things literally look like someone hit the fast-forward button, and haphazardly stitched-together short takes that are supposed to make some sequences look like one fluid shot but instead make them look like cheap cartoons. Though this picture is, at times, passively entertaining, what we're left with is a fairly by-the-numbers 'save the world' plot and a string of odd action set-pieces seemingly incompetently put together. These pieces of the puzzle are now missing. While I and many other 'fans' didn't mind (or at least excused) the passive, clearly satirical crude jests and occasional absurdity of the original picture, we certainly didn't want a follow-up based entirely around what would obviously be considered the weakest aspects of that piece - elements which were only mitigated by the joyous fun found in the brilliance of its subtle yet witty satire and its surprisingly well-developed characters.

This standoffish move is meant to further separate the apparent 'critics' from the so-called 'fans', yet it only successfully provides both categories with a much worse experience. 'Kingsman: The Golden Circle (2017)' is essentially all a big joke played on those who took umbrage at the few select sexualised moments from the final act of the first film, a joke whereby everything is consistently ramped up to eleven regardless of its negative impact on the story.

Read to the end to see my updated thoughts. Reviewed by Pjtaylor-96-138044 7 / 10 Fun, but feels like the fifth film in a franchise struggling to maintain its relevancy, not the follow-up to what was perhaps the most promising new property in Hollywood.
