I heard a lot of bad press for this film. Mainly, what I had heard was that, in comparison to the first one, it was a disappointment. Some even hating it. So, I had trepidations going into this. I had hoped that it would be another John Wick, Chapter II. Another sequel that takes what worked about the original, and expands on it. However, the film many compared this to was Men in Black II. Another sequel which took the fresh original (also based on an independent comic), and alternated between repeating it and contradicting it in order to repeat it. (As Rick Sanchez said, it was a "soulless cash-grab") Having now watched it, The Men in Black II comparison is the most appropriate. It's not as bad as MiB II or III, but yeah, in comparison to the first one, this was disappointing.
Based on characters from Mark Millar's and Dave Gibbon's The Secret Service (which didn't have a sequel), a year has passed since the events of the first one, and Gary "Eggsy" Unwin (Taron Edgerton) is now a bone fide Kingsman, still working alongside Roxie (Sophie Cookson) and Merlin (Mark Strong), and dating Swedish Princess Tilde (Hanna Alstrom) . The film opens with the James Franco look-alike from the first one, Charlie (Edward Holcroft) attacking him, having lost his arm (somehow) during the events of the first one. After an extended action scene in a taxi, he manages to escape. However, the robotic arm manages to hack the Kingsman's database. Charlie goes to his new benefactor Poppy (Julianne Moore), a drug lord obsessed with the 70's version of the 1950's (and keeps Elton John (Reginald Dwight) around as entertainment). Poppy has been sending tainted drugs in order to force full drug legaization across the world. She uses the info Charlie retrieved to launch an all-out offensive, leading to the destruction of the Kingsmen. Only Eggsy and Merlin survived the onslaught. However, when they drink a whiskey they had retrieved for such an occasion, they are alerted to the "Statesmen", a similar organization from across the pond. After a terse meeting with Tequila (Channing Tatum), they meet the American version of Merlin, Ginger Ale (Halle Berry), agent Whiskey (Pedro Pascal) and the Statesmen leader, Champagne (Jeff Bridge) (Get it?) Biggest of all, they find the Statesmen had retrieved Harry Hart (Colin Firth) after his death in the first one. Poppy's demand illicits an opposite response from POTUS (Bruce Greenwood) who wants to kill off all the drug users to gain some political points. Between people slowly falling victim to Poppy's drugs and the President herding them to force their death, the Kingsmen and Statesmen must team up to find the antidote.
I'll give it this: like the first one, the actors are clearly having a good time, either hamming it up or indulging wholescale in the action. (Spoiler) One of the characters dies singing John Denver's "Take Me Home, Country Roads (The second time this year I've heard that song in a film) Some of the action scenes are good (I'll get back to that). Elton John was enjoyable in his supporting role. Most people got annoyed by him, but I found his presence funny (plus, he plays one of his most enjoyable songs "Saturday Night's Alright for Fighting"). The set design is good. The action set pieces are well-established, if contrived. The action is also toned down significantly from the first one (though it still has some gruesome moments, they feel less intrusive. The fact that POTUS turns out to be a minor villain was a nice touch, (especially since it pokes fun at both extremes of the drug debate)
The first fight scene in this film was hard to engage with. The problem was that it was so heavily CGI'd, which would be fine if it weren't so fake-looking. It set the tone for some of the action, which felt less innovative than the first one. It tries to top the first one, but it feels subpar. Sometimes, it wouldn't make sense. I mentioned MiB II earlier, and it feels most apt when talking about Eggsy. Like Will Smith in MiBII, it feels like the character has been stuck where he was in the last film. It never really shows any sort of growth for his character. Not that he is back to where he was at the beginning of the first film, but he doesn't really have anywhere to go. Taron Edgerton still gives an excellent performance, but the character felt running in place. The plot is engaging, but it doesn't feel organic and more contrived. It also feels like it goes on for too long, because they needed to wrap up everything. That goes with individual scenes as well, which sometimes take longer than they should. Some actors are wasted. Despite their prominence in the trailer, Channing Tatum and Jeff Bridges are basically cameoing. Julianne Moore's villain (aside from her opening scene) doesn't feel particularly disturbing or threatening. They outright killed Roxy (one of the best parts of the first one) after only one scene.
So, yeah, this was not another John Wick, Chapter II. If you liked the first one, maybe you'll enjoy this, but it won't really exceed it. If you haven't seen the first one, don't bother. Go watch It, that was a good adreneline rush film, or stay home and watch the first one. I had fun in this, and I liked it more than other people, but I agree it wasn't as good as the first one, and I do see why people dislike.
Tomorrow, I will start the next chapter of Masterpiece of Horror Theatre, with the late Tobe Hopper's Texas Chainsaw Massacre.
Based on characters from Mark Millar's and Dave Gibbon's The Secret Service (which didn't have a sequel), a year has passed since the events of the first one, and Gary "Eggsy" Unwin (Taron Edgerton) is now a bone fide Kingsman, still working alongside Roxie (Sophie Cookson) and Merlin (Mark Strong), and dating Swedish Princess Tilde (Hanna Alstrom) . The film opens with the James Franco look-alike from the first one, Charlie (Edward Holcroft) attacking him, having lost his arm (somehow) during the events of the first one. After an extended action scene in a taxi, he manages to escape. However, the robotic arm manages to hack the Kingsman's database. Charlie goes to his new benefactor Poppy (Julianne Moore), a drug lord obsessed with the 70's version of the 1950's (and keeps Elton John (Reginald Dwight) around as entertainment). Poppy has been sending tainted drugs in order to force full drug legaization across the world. She uses the info Charlie retrieved to launch an all-out offensive, leading to the destruction of the Kingsmen. Only Eggsy and Merlin survived the onslaught. However, when they drink a whiskey they had retrieved for such an occasion, they are alerted to the "Statesmen", a similar organization from across the pond. After a terse meeting with Tequila (Channing Tatum), they meet the American version of Merlin, Ginger Ale (Halle Berry), agent Whiskey (Pedro Pascal) and the Statesmen leader, Champagne (Jeff Bridge) (Get it?) Biggest of all, they find the Statesmen had retrieved Harry Hart (Colin Firth) after his death in the first one. Poppy's demand illicits an opposite response from POTUS (Bruce Greenwood) who wants to kill off all the drug users to gain some political points. Between people slowly falling victim to Poppy's drugs and the President herding them to force their death, the Kingsmen and Statesmen must team up to find the antidote.
I'll give it this: like the first one, the actors are clearly having a good time, either hamming it up or indulging wholescale in the action. (Spoiler) One of the characters dies singing John Denver's "Take Me Home, Country Roads (The second time this year I've heard that song in a film) Some of the action scenes are good (I'll get back to that). Elton John was enjoyable in his supporting role. Most people got annoyed by him, but I found his presence funny (plus, he plays one of his most enjoyable songs "Saturday Night's Alright for Fighting"). The set design is good. The action set pieces are well-established, if contrived. The action is also toned down significantly from the first one (though it still has some gruesome moments, they feel less intrusive. The fact that POTUS turns out to be a minor villain was a nice touch, (especially since it pokes fun at both extremes of the drug debate)
The first fight scene in this film was hard to engage with. The problem was that it was so heavily CGI'd, which would be fine if it weren't so fake-looking. It set the tone for some of the action, which felt less innovative than the first one. It tries to top the first one, but it feels subpar. Sometimes, it wouldn't make sense. I mentioned MiB II earlier, and it feels most apt when talking about Eggsy. Like Will Smith in MiBII, it feels like the character has been stuck where he was in the last film. It never really shows any sort of growth for his character. Not that he is back to where he was at the beginning of the first film, but he doesn't really have anywhere to go. Taron Edgerton still gives an excellent performance, but the character felt running in place. The plot is engaging, but it doesn't feel organic and more contrived. It also feels like it goes on for too long, because they needed to wrap up everything. That goes with individual scenes as well, which sometimes take longer than they should. Some actors are wasted. Despite their prominence in the trailer, Channing Tatum and Jeff Bridges are basically cameoing. Julianne Moore's villain (aside from her opening scene) doesn't feel particularly disturbing or threatening. They outright killed Roxy (one of the best parts of the first one) after only one scene.
So, yeah, this was not another John Wick, Chapter II. If you liked the first one, maybe you'll enjoy this, but it won't really exceed it. If you haven't seen the first one, don't bother. Go watch It, that was a good adreneline rush film, or stay home and watch the first one. I had fun in this, and I liked it more than other people, but I agree it wasn't as good as the first one, and I do see why people dislike.
Tomorrow, I will start the next chapter of Masterpiece of Horror Theatre, with the late Tobe Hopper's Texas Chainsaw Massacre.
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