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Friday, October 4, 2024
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HOLLYWOOD KINGSMAN: THE GOLDEN CIRCLE
EDITOR'S PICK
'Kingsman: The Golden Circle': A comic book-esque action packed film
(Review By Troy Ribeiro ; Rating: ***)
Like its prequel the 2014 released, "Kingsman: The Secret Service," this film
too is stylish yet comical with a cartoonish tinge. It tries a little too hard
to surpass its predecessor in terms of being an extremely violent and
boundlessly inventive spy film.
Directed by Mathew Vaughn and written by him along with Jane Goldman, the film
is based on the graphic novel developed by Mark Millar and Dave Gibbons. For
those uninitiated into this franchise, Kingsman is an International British spy
organisation. And in ‘The Golden Circle' the plot follows the Kingsman's need to
team up with their American counterpart, ‘The Statesman,' after the world is
held hostage by a new threat.
The narrative begins on a dramatic action-packed note. It is a year after Gary
Unwin aka Eggsy has joined the Kingsman. After escaping an ambush by a former
Kingsman trainee Charlie Hesketh, Gary goes to meet his girlfriend Princess
Tilde of Sweden.
Later, while dining with the Princess and her parents in Sweden, a volley of
missiles destroy the Kingsman headquarters extinguishing all the Kingsman agents
in Britain.
Eggsy being the only surviving agent, follows the doomsday protocol which leads
him to ‘Statesman', an organisation posing as a Bourbon Whiskey distillery in
Kentucky. Here he is briefed by Statesman head Champagne about a secret
terrorist organisation called ‘The Golden Circle.' He along with Statesman Agent
Tequila start their mission by following Charlie's ex-girlfriend Clara Von
Gluckfberg.
Meanwhile, a drug cartel headed by Poppy Adams based out of Cambodia poisons its
customers. The recreational drugs make its customers break out in in a blue rash
followed by mania, paralysis and eventual death. She calls the President of
America and offers to help him in his endeavour with his war on drugs, provided
she and her pharmaceutical company are given immunity to all their convictions.
Meanwhile, Agent Tequila develops the blue rash and is soon replaced by Agent
Whiskey.
During the same time, Eggsy discovers that his mentor Harry who was shot by
Valentine a year earlier has survived the gunshot and is suffering from amnesia.
As soon as he is stabilised, Eggsy refuses to go on the mission without his
mentor Harry.
So how the three of them take down Poppy Adams and free the people the world
over from the drug poisoning, forms the crux of the tale.
The narrative initially seems convoluted and tedious but by the middle of the
second act the jigsaw puzzles fit in place making the tale a mediocre and
acceptable fare. The action sequences though stylishly mounted range from
complex to absurd. While the infiltration into the remote Italian snowy
mountaintop stronghold to retrieve a world-saving antidote is too easy, the
cabin shoot-out along with the spinning ski-lift is dull and predictable.
Nevertheless, the computer generated images merge seamlessly with
Cinematographer George Richmond's live action shots.
The performances of the entire cast are mundane. Julianne Moore, as the drug
kingpin Poppy Adams is limited with her on-screen presence. How she treats
people - friends and foes, is comically interesting yet unexciting.
Colin Firth is wasted as the suave Harry who suffers from hallucinations. Singer
Elton John with a colourful full-length outfit and high-heeled platform shoes is
dull and boring.
Halle Berry and Jeff Bridges as the Kingsman coordinators are seen on the
console board just blurting out instructions. Similarly Emily Watson, Channing
Tatum and Michael Gabon are barely there.
Overall, "Kingsman: The Golden Circle" is a decent comic book-esque action
packed film.
''Kingsman: The Secret Service'' introduced the world to Kingsman - an independent, international intelligence agency operating at the highest level of discretion, whose ultimate goal is to keep the world safe. In ''Kingsman: The Golden Circle,'' our heroes face a new challenge. When their headquarters are destroyed and the world is held hostage, their journey leads them to the discovery of an allied spy organization in the US called Statesman, dating back to the day they were both founded. In a new adventure that tests their agents’ strength and wits to the limit, these two elite secret organizations band together to defeat a ruthless common enemy, in order to save the world, something that’s becoming a bit of a habit for Eggsy…
