Taron Egerton and Julianne Moore give this overlong spy comedy more charm than its plotting earns. The action has skill behind it, but the crowded cast and coarse jokes make it a wearying evening.
Matthew Vaughn’s Kingsman: The Golden Circle is a poor spy comedy that keeps finding ways to prolong a joke. At 141 minutes, it has enough time for its plentiful characters and still struggles to give them something worth doing. The ambition is understandable: make the action elaborate, keep the company agreeable and let the bad taste get a laugh. We can enjoy all three, but the director repeats them until the effort becomes tiring.
Taron Egerton gives Eggsy an alertness that makes us keep looking for a more involving story for him. He can hold our attention without another elaborate action sequence being arranged around him, which makes the shortage of development frustrating. Colin Firth and Mark Strong help, because the exchanges between the three have an ease the plot rarely manages. Matthew Vaughn and Jane Goldman have written plenty to occupy this cast; too little of it allows Eggsy to become more interesting.
Julianne Moore makes Poppy enjoyable through the physical comedy, committing herself to the absurdity without pausing to advertise the joke. We laughed at her performance, and then became irritated as the film kept asking her to repeat the same effect. That is a waste of an actor who can make this sort of foolishness seem worth the trouble. After a while, even Poppy stops being much fun.
The action is not lazily assembled, and that matters even when it becomes tiresome. George Richmond’s cinematography and Eddie Hamilton’s editing keep the fights quick and legible, but the relentless movement makes it difficult to feel that anything can hurt. The choreography offers plenty to watch, though our interest in the outcome keeps slipping. The editor maintains speed within individual sequences; the screenplay keeps supplying complications that delay the next useful encounter between characters.
Darren Gilford’s production design supplies welcome colour, giving the eye something to enjoy when the plotting starts to feel like work. Henry Jackman and Matthew Margeson drive the action with an emphatic score, which adds momentum but gives us little relief alongside the rapid cutting. These contributions are effective enough in isolation, yet the film becomes tiring when every department is working so hard to keep us excited.
The crude humour is harder to forgive than the length. The director treats an unpleasant idea as sufficient grounds for a joke, and too many of the violent gags stop there. A spy spoof needs some wit about its heroes’ appetites and the business they are in. Here, even the political plotting seems to make the story busier without giving the comedy much to work with.
The warmer reviews are understandable when the cast get a chance to work together. We cannot recommend 141 minutes on the strength of those exchanges, particularly when the film keeps interrupting them. Anyone coming solely for elaborate action may be more forgiving. For an evening’s entertainment, we would choose something less exhausting.
