Kermode is really interesting to listen to because he's unafraid to talk about ethics and taste when discussing movies. It frustrates me that people are so quick to dismiss any discussion of movies along these lines (especially since it sounds like Kermode /does/ have an underlying awareness that his moral viewpoint isn't going to be the same as everyone else's). I haven't seen this movie so I have no idea whether I agree with him in this particular case though.
I agree. I actually quite liked Golden Circle, but I think that I am more of the audience for exploitation and tasteless humor than Mark Kermode is. Nevertheless, I genuinely enjoy hearing his point of view since he is so erudite about his opinions.
He's full of it. Tolerates a girl shoving a crucifix in her vagina in his favourite movie, but can't handle a sequence where a conflicted spy has to implant a sensor through sequence?
The entire Glastonbury sequence should've ended up on cutting room floor. That whole thing felt painfully contrived just so they could work in one tasteless joke and in terms of the overall plot it was completely superfluous anyway.
+CichlidAsh Our parents have only had very conventional, boring sex, once; to conceive us. That's common knowledge, and I don't want to hear any more piffle from the likes of you, suggesting otherwise!
It is shocking how many of us were conceived on the very first time our parents ever had sex and like wise it was the one and only time EVER! I even heard that this one girl called Marry or something even claims she never even had sex and ended up pregnant!
I've yet to see it, but I don't think it's going to be as enjoyable as the first. First was good fun, but totally and utterly bonkers. I had no expectations going in and was entertained with how bizarre it became. Following on from that is a tough act to follow. A bit like John Wick 2, I guess you're likely to enjoy the second if you enjoyed the first, but exceeding the first because it was such a surprise hit, is far more difficult and unlikely to happen.
Great review as always Mark, personally I really enjoyed it, I liked the humour and the action and thought the Villain was great, it's far from perfection and the first film but I found it to just be good fun
Really don't get the hate for the original Kingsman's ending. It was poking fun at the Bond formula by ramping things up to the nth degree. How exactly did it damage the film?
"It was poking fun at the Bond formula by ramping things up to the nth degree." Like absolutely everything in that movie. I didn't particularly like it either but it definitely fits.
it felt like a joke that austin powers would've rolled his eyes at the film actually subverted a lot of bond tropes, so having the ending be played so straight (emphasis on straight) was just a bit weird
especially when the female lead gets the big important job of floating up into the sky and pressing a button or w/e, gives it a bit of a weird cis male flavour could've had some kind of interesting subversive bond girl dig but instead they did a wayans brothers joke out of nowhere
I saw it on a 7.50 movie pass from purchasing the first on DVD. It was alright, though I thought it was a bit long and that one scene was a bit cringe.
45,000 people viewed this but only five hundred hit "like". People are just unappreciative and rude. They're both feeling ill and came to work to entertain us and so few give them credit. Love you both and thank you for genuine quality and hard work.
I was wondering if the 2nd kingsman would be naff purely for that amount of adverts for it - that are flaming everywhere, which as far as i know equates to it being a bad film. I'll still watch it cos i loved the first one especially the ending which Mr. K doesn't seem t like
I think everything was dialed up to 11 and it was just too much. The church scene worked in the first film because that's literally what it was; a scene. In this they seem to think that it would work to have that visual style going throughout the entirety of the film's runtime. Again, it was all just too much.
It wasn't the only scene. Remember the girl with blades on her shoes or whatever it was having a few slow motions scenes too. You make a very good point though about overdoing it.
I enjoyed the first one -there was a sense of fun with it. This had none of that . Mark is right with the Kickass analogies. Also the Elton John gag was irritating by the end so much so I willing one characters to shoot him in the film. Sir Elton's performance was even worse than Keith Richards and Paul McCartney in the Pirates of the Carribbean franchise and that's saying something. It's not without redeeming features but it's not great and some of plot twists are bizarre. Egerton did okay but the best performances were from Mark Strong and Jeff Bridges - the latter for some inexplicable reason seemed to get less screen time than Sir Elton despite being far more worthy of it.
Julianne Moore has done her fair share of average stuff recent years. She played in the remake of Carrie for example (2013). Why did she even took that role? Remake of a cult classic. www.imdb.com/title/tt1939659/?ref_=nm_flmg_act_19 Seventh Son (2014) www.imdb.com/title/tt1121096/?ref_=nm_flmg_act_13 Chloe 2009 www.imdb.com/title/tt1352824/?ref_=nm_flmg_act_31
I loved this film but I can why some people might not... You may need a taste for the completely ridiculous and over the top, and it may help to see it with some equally as crazy and over the top friends
The Secret Service was never a film for the faint of heart and that's understandable but if they didn't like it then why bother going to the sequel. Besides, critics should be judging a film as a ''film'', not bitching about ''over the top'' nonsense and then jump on the negative band wagon.
Whilst I felt it didn't need that last joke in the original I did feel it was aware of itself enough to not think itself above the movie cliches. I thought it was just breaking that Bond style pretending that they don't have a sexually driven man who can't separate his pleasure and work time. Seemed to be saying that the whole British idea of being quiet about sex is a cover. Don't think it was that bad because the body of work which it was so strong.
I thought it was quite good fun, maybe a 6/10. A lot of people won't be as offended as Mark was by the schoolboy humour scenes, and there are still some enjoyable action sequences. Julianne Moore is miscast though, and bringing back Colin Firth from the dead was perhaps the biggest joke of all.
I didn't mind the first film's ending (although I can totally understand why other people did). But the one in this, just wasn't funny (which is it's biggest sin). Also they do something to a particular character that soured me on this film very early on.
Talia Price agreed. I've generally found Mark strong and Jason Isaacs worth watching in even the worst of films. Mark was pushing it with brothers Grimsby though
luckyspurs agreed but that wasn't a bad film. I'm talking about stinkers like Russel crows robin hood where I had nothing good to say about it other than "oh, that's mark strong, at least he seems to be trying"
Channing Tatum gets wasted in this film and gets no part in the action at all which is disappointing that he and the other new characters aside from Pedro Pascal get no decent screen time or fleshed out characteristics. that could get improved on for a sequel but the now is more important than then.
Why is a scene where a crowd of people hack and shoot and stab each other to death not only fine but praiseworthy, whereas one bad joke about bum sex gets such opprobrium? Not saying that I liked it or that it wasn't a bit crass, but come on... get a sense of perspective.
Because they dislike the type of people in the church scene, so it's fine that we get to see them all get brutally murdered. That's why they're fine with it. However, they feel the need to say that this minor sex scene is sexist and freak out. Absolute lunatics. Either both scenes are acceptable (what most people would say) or neither are. You're right - they completely lack perspective.
People have perspective that’s why people don’t like it...the one carry’s more weight than the other because it’s a character who you have been with through the entire movie watching him struggle and when completes his arc than the writer/director cheapens it by spoiling the character.
I liked the first one (though the joke at the end is really cringey - doesn't ruin the film or anything, it's just pretty lame and not funny), but it sounds like this one just doubles down on the crass factor and adds on an extra twenty minutes. And bringing back Colin Firth just feels really lazy. Boo, hiss etc
I just looked up this film- and I saw the runtime was 141 minutes. Uhhhhhhh. That is already striking me as too long. Will reserve judgement but that sounds too long for a comedic inflected action movie. Sounds like a drag.
He spends half the review talking about one scene, and admittedly the film did push it in that scene but it's not worth punishing the whole movie for that
Spot-On review. I wish I'd seen this before going. I was within a whisker of leaving the cinema several times (including during the opening scenes) but thought, surely it will get better and reprise something of the the imagination of original. It was a real disappointment. The only saving grace is that I saw it in one of the cheapest cinemas in the country (£2.50) - and I really feel for those of you are going to be disappointed for £12 or more. Wait for it on TV (if the censors ever pass it on language), there at least you can switch it off for free! It must be one of the highest scoring uses of the F-word of any mainstream movie (really pathetic how some parts of the audience continued to think this was amusing). The director must have been doing this as a challenge - they're just taking the p!$$ at our expense! Don't Go!
Pretty much everyone I know who like the film to varying degrees seems to agree on THAT joke coming at the very end of the film - never mind the disturbingly leery way in which the camera treats the situation - leaving a bad taste in the mouth the moment the film is over.
I do think that Kermode goes too easy on directors he likes. Spielberg for example always gets too much love from Kermode, sometimes undeserved. Both The Big Friendly giant and The Bridge of Spies were mediocre movies and Kermode praised both.
I don't understand the butt sex joke hate really, but I really respect Kermode's opinion and actually calling out how he sometimes sides with directors, I really didn't like the trailer for this movie it doesn't surprise me it's not any good.
Didn't love the first one but I hated this one before I even saw it as I just can't stand when sequels are made on the basis of the success of the first, seeing Jeff Bridges and JM on the poster is the only reason I went, but they didn't save the film, we hardly see Jeff Bridges and JM, well she was part of a mediocre film and not much to her character, the action sequences from The Hitman's Bodyguard are 10 times much better than this mess.
I have an odd relationship with this film, because I actually saw it before I saw the original. And I thought this one was a good bit of fun. It was stupid as hell, but thoroughly entertaining, and I thought it succeeded for the most part at what it set out to do. So I checked out the first one later on, and yeah... the original is a significantly better film. But the fact that *The Golden Circle* is what got me interested in the franchise kind-of makes it off-limits for me to dislike. I still find it quite entertaining, even if it isn't close to the same level as *The Secret Service.*
The film’s well acted, well casted, intriguing & stylish, however the film feels long, the action sequences are poor, the film poorly characterised & unfocused. (57%) (3/5 stars) (mixed)
Anyone else's BBFC title card read Kingsman :The Secret Service and not The Golden Circle ? Not sure if that's a cinema mistake or just the BBFC laziness. good thing Jeff Bridges was being weird in this movie other wise it would have not been worth seeing.
The bum note saved the movie if you ask me. The whole point of it was offend prudish sensibilities and to let you know they were outrageously irreverent.
So slaughtering a bunch of innocent people in a church is a "great scene" but showing a girl's bum at the end of a film is "unforgivable?" Interesting.
Your moral standards are very strange Mr Kermode: You praise all of the last three Batman movies in which innocent people are a.killed, b. tortured c. maimed by bombs. These villains in the case of the Joker for example get away with it with a kind slap on the wrist. Bit of hypocrisy here?
It's a horrible movie even without French dubbing. I...god. I don't know if you've seen Batman & Robin or The Dark Tower or anything Akiva Goldsman has touched, but 98 Avengers is that kind of bad.
I quite enjoyed Kingsman: The Golden Circle, but at the same time I've found myself agreeing with a lot of what Mark's saying here. It's crass, it's got some woefully misjudged scenes and jokes, and undermines itself. It goes over the top in a way that isn't the same style in the first film and has very little physicality to it. Yet despite all this, I really enjoyed watching it and I had a lot of fun whilst seeing it. It's not good, it's shameless, but it's SUCH a stupid mess that I enjoyed I can't really do anything other than recommend it.
If you liked the original then I guess you’ll like ‘Kingsman: The Golden Circle’ too - I didn’t. My biggest problem was that it was, once again, puerile with a side serving of casual sexism. I know that it’s meant to be ironic humour, or something similar, but with a 15 certificate I would imagine it leaves itself with a rather narrow age band to aim at. Basically, if you think that grownups saying f**k a lot is funny then this is for you. Other than that, crude national stereotyping and sad, bad scripting is the order of the day. Never have I seen so much acting talent going to waste. I’m sure it will blend quite easily into the planned third film. 1/5
The glasto scene (button pushing and pee line), the marriage obsessed gf, killing off the only female field agent in the first 10 minutes, and the bad guy murdering his cheating gf by blowing her up made this such a misogynistic cringe fest for me. Never mind the shoe-horned Americana stuff. Just awful.
I can't believe Mark is this annoyed by a slightly misogynistic joke in the first film but compliments a scene in which people are mass slaughtered in a church for comedic effect. People need to get their priorities thought out a little more.
Kingsman has to be one or the laziest and boring films made and the fact it has a sequel which will lead to some unimaginative franchise. Which should be no surprise to anyone as studios have conditioned the audience to accept something just being fun.
I can't believe the dismay about one average butt joke. Why are people so easily offended by nothing these days. 'Completely unforgivable'... get a grip
Matthew Singh-Dosanjh - whose feelings am I not understanding Matthew? I have experienced loads of things in my life. I'm not sexist and would probably describe myself closer to being a feminist than an alpha male. I think it was a poor and unnecessary joke but I failed to see why that joke would ruin the experience of what was otherwise a really enjoyable film. So lack of empathy for what.... please educate me...
Im actually a really big fan of kingsman and i've defended the princess joke in the last film for years. however the joke in the new film that mark is referring to is unforgivable. it's unnecessary and unfunny and i believe that is why mark found it so reprehensible. when mark said completely unforgivable he was referring to the joke in this new film and he was right it was so childish it spoil the film.
Green Whovian -'ended on an unforgivable bum note.' Surely denotes being offended... especially when he refers to some people being offended... he also refers to him saying 'no' during the screening of the original when he saw the ending. I think I've got the feel of what Mark and many critics felt. And I love Kermode... followed him since his docu on the Exorcist... read two of his books. He loves film and so do I. I think I know his views well enough to infer when he is offended.
Great review as always Mark, personally I really enjoyed it, I liked the humour and the action and thought the Villain was great, it's far from perfection and the first film but I found it to just be good fun
"I'm suddenly getting visions of Piers Morgan in Entourage!"
"Oh my goodness."
Cracked up when i heard that.
I never watched Entourage, can someone explain?
rulzzzzzz Google Mark's review of Entourage and watch it with popcorn first.
Kermode is really interesting to listen to because he's unafraid to talk about ethics and taste when discussing movies. It frustrates me that people are so quick to dismiss any discussion of movies along these lines (especially since it sounds like Kermode /does/ have an underlying awareness that his moral viewpoint isn't going to be the same as everyone else's).
I haven't seen this movie so I have no idea whether I agree with him in this particular case though.
I agree. I actually quite liked Golden Circle, but I think that I am more of the audience for exploitation and tasteless humor than Mark Kermode is. Nevertheless, I genuinely enjoy hearing his point of view since he is so erudite about his opinions.
He's full of it. Tolerates a girl shoving a crucifix in her vagina in his favourite movie, but can't handle a sequence where a conflicted spy has to implant a sensor through sequence?
"An unforgivable bum note".
Well played Dr. K - you sir, win the internet today.
How to suggest and describe, without giving the game away.
Alexander Mayes what is he referring to?
The Elton John street fighter kick was the most embarrassing moment in cinema this year.
Get well soon Mark!
id be really interested to see what you think about batman v superman
The entire Glastonbury sequence should've ended up on cutting room floor. That whole thing felt painfully contrived just so they could work in one tasteless joke and in terms of the overall plot it was completely superfluous anyway.
That cringeworthy scene Kermode was on about was made all the worse for me as I was with a parent...
He places a tracking device inside a female character during sex and the camera follows.
Its ok I am sure that your parents have actually done something very similar with each other Rockinchimp
+CichlidAsh Our parents have only had very conventional, boring sex, once; to conceive us. That's common knowledge, and I don't want to hear any more piffle from the likes of you, suggesting otherwise!
It is shocking how many of us were conceived on the very first time our parents ever had sex and like wise it was the one and only time EVER! I even heard that this one girl called Marry or something even claims she never even had sex and ended up pregnant!
I was also with a parent and I leaned over to her and whispered, bet you didn't wake up this morning thinking you'd see that.
Not the drum stick scene?
Agree with everything that was said. I saw it on Wednesday and I can't recall laughing or smiling that often and the glasto shot was unnecessary.
4:42 to 4:46, Ooooh… I wasn't thinking of that at all.
noticed your voice sounds a bit scratchy...hope u feel better doctor!
I've yet to see it, but I don't think it's going to be as enjoyable as the first. First was good fun, but totally and utterly bonkers. I had no expectations going in and was entertained with how bizarre it became. Following on from that is a tough act to follow. A bit like John Wick 2, I guess you're likely to enjoy the second if you enjoyed the first, but exceeding the first because it was such a surprise hit, is far more difficult and unlikely to happen.
Great review as always Mark, personally I really enjoyed it, I liked the humour and the action and thought the Villain was great, it's far from perfection and the first film but I found it to just be good fun
Really don't get the hate for the original Kingsman's ending. It was poking fun at the Bond formula by ramping things up to the nth degree. How exactly did it damage the film?
Because like you say, it took the Bond formula by ramping things up to the nth degree. There was no need for it, and it wasn't funny.
"It was poking fun at the Bond formula by ramping things up to the nth degree."
Like absolutely everything in that movie.
I didn't particularly like it either but it definitely fits.
it felt like a joke that austin powers would've rolled his eyes at
the film actually subverted a lot of bond tropes, so having the ending be played so straight (emphasis on straight) was just a bit weird
especially when the female lead gets the big important job of floating up into the sky and pressing a button or w/e, gives it a bit of a weird cis male flavour
could've had some kind of interesting subversive bond girl dig but instead they did a wayans brothers joke out of nowhere
Well I thought it was very funny
To be fair, they point out that the gel only revives people who have been shot in the head.
Oh hi Mark!
I saw it on a 7.50 movie pass from purchasing the first on DVD. It was alright, though I thought it was a bit long and that one scene was a bit cringe.
45,000 people viewed this but only five hundred hit "like". People are just unappreciative and rude. They're both feeling ill and came to work to entertain us and so few give them credit. Love you both and thank you for genuine quality and hard work.
Sorry I didn't hear what you were saying ... what with their arses muffling most of your words.
I was wondering if the 2nd kingsman would be naff purely for that amount of adverts for it - that are flaming everywhere, which as far as i know equates to it being a bad film. I'll still watch it cos i loved the first one especially the ending which Mr. K doesn't seem t like
It's ok, not as bad as some reviews make out, a similar vein to the first movie just not as good.
"Unforgivable" I feel like that joke at the end of the first film has been blown wildly out of proportion by a lot of people
It was hilarious I thought lol
I think everything was dialed up to 11 and it was just too much.
The church scene worked in the first film because that's literally what it was; a scene. In this they seem to think that it would work to have that visual style going throughout the entirety of the film's runtime. Again, it was all just too much.
It wasn't the only scene. Remember the girl with blades on her shoes or whatever it was having a few slow motions scenes too. You make a very good point though about overdoing it.
The most I've ever agreed with a mark kermode review
What does naff mean?
Tacky & sleazy
I love the button pushing scene lol
I enjoyed the first one -there was a sense of fun with it. This had none of that . Mark is right with the Kickass analogies. Also the Elton John gag was irritating by the end so much so I willing one characters to shoot him in the film. Sir Elton's performance was even worse than Keith Richards and Paul McCartney in the Pirates of the Carribbean franchise and that's saying something. It's not without redeeming features but it's not great and some of plot twists are bizarre. Egerton did okay but the best performances were from Mark Strong and Jeff Bridges - the latter for some inexplicable reason seemed to get less screen time than Sir Elton despite being far more worthy of it.
I can't remember the joke he's on about. Only bum note in the first film was the ridiculous child in jeopardy scene
You know you know you know you know you know you know you know you know you know
Completely agree with Kermode. Seen it tonight.
However I disagree about Julianne Moore, she was the only redeeming thing about it.
Kermode does Bale's Batman
Julianne Moore has done her fair share of average stuff recent years. She played in the remake of Carrie for example (2013). Why did she even took that role? Remake of a cult classic. www.imdb.com/title/tt1939659/?ref_=nm_flmg_act_19
Seventh Son (2014) www.imdb.com/title/tt1121096/?ref_=nm_flmg_act_13
Chloe 2009 www.imdb.com/title/tt1352824/?ref_=nm_flmg_act_31
I agree. I actually thought Julianne Moore was one of the better, more entertaining parts of the movie and one of the best played characters.
Carry on Kingsman
Vaughn and Chloe Moretz need to make a Hit Girl movie. Now.
I loved this film but I can why some people might not... You may need a taste for the completely ridiculous and over the top, and it may help to see it with some equally as crazy and over the top friends
"The Golden Circle was really over the top'' Ummmm, people's heads blowing up in a cartoony way in The Secret Service wasn't batshit crazy enough?
This one has human burgers, for starters.
Gregory House batshit craziness was always inevitable to happen in The Golden Circle.
The Secret Service was never a film for the faint of heart and that's understandable but if they didn't like it then why bother going to the sequel. Besides, critics should be judging a film as a ''film'', not bitching about ''over the top'' nonsense and then jump on the negative band wagon.
Gregory House That scene was hilariously uncomfortable. And it looked like one tasty burger.
Secret service was fun though. Golden Circle was just ridiculous
Couldnt agree more about the crude humour
I thought Egerton and some of the tests were really good in the first film, but beyond that, it was a bit uninteresting.
Whilst I felt it didn't need that last joke in the original I did feel it was aware of itself enough to not think itself above the movie cliches. I thought it was just breaking that Bond style pretending that they don't have a sexually driven man who can't separate his pleasure and work time. Seemed to be saying that the whole British idea of being quiet about sex is a cover. Don't think it was that bad because the body of work which it was so strong.
Lol Kermode has fresher's flue!
it has even been edited, bless.
There were scenes that were just Crass! It's was a problem like Kermode says!
I thought it was quite good fun, maybe a 6/10. A lot of people won't be as offended as Mark was by the schoolboy humour scenes, and there are still some enjoyable action sequences. Julianne Moore is miscast though, and bringing back Colin Firth from the dead was perhaps the biggest joke of all.
I didn't mind the first film's ending (although I can totally understand why other people did). But the one in this, just wasn't funny (which is it's biggest sin). Also they do something to a particular character that soured me on this film very early on.
The first one was fun. I might see this one because of Mark Strong
Talia Price agreed. I've generally found Mark strong and Jason Isaacs worth watching in even the worst of films.
Mark was pushing it with brothers Grimsby though
Luke S what are you on about?
HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA Enjoy the show, Talia
By the Mark Strong was worth watching logic you might as well watch Rockandrolla again.
Amazing that film had Elba, Hardy, Wilkinson and Strong in it.
luckyspurs agreed but that wasn't a bad film. I'm talking about stinkers like Russel crows robin hood where I had nothing good to say about it other than "oh, that's mark strong, at least he seems to be trying"
Must have just been me who enjoyed this film then? Not as good as the first but still entertaining for what it is.
Channing Tatum gets wasted in this film and gets no part in the action at all which is disappointing that he and the other new characters aside from Pedro Pascal get no decent screen time or fleshed out characteristics. that could get improved on for a sequel but the now is more important than then.
Why is a scene where a crowd of people hack and shoot and stab each other to death not only fine but praiseworthy, whereas one bad joke about bum sex gets such opprobrium?
Not saying that I liked it or that it wasn't a bit crass, but come on... get a sense of perspective.
Because they dislike the type of people in the church scene, so it's fine that we get to see them all get brutally murdered. That's why they're fine with it. However, they feel the need to say that this minor sex scene is sexist and freak out. Absolute lunatics. Either both scenes are acceptable (what most people would say) or neither are. You're right - they completely lack perspective.
People have perspective that’s why people don’t like it...the one carry’s more weight than the other because it’s a character who you have been with through the entire movie watching him struggle and when completes his arc than the writer/director cheapens it by spoiling the character.
I liked the first one (though the joke at the end is really cringey - doesn't ruin the film or anything, it's just pretty lame and not funny), but it sounds like this one just doubles down on the crass factor and adds on an extra twenty minutes. And bringing back Colin Firth just feels really lazy. Boo, hiss etc
I like kermode, but I don't think he understands that this movie was meant to be ridiculous and over the top
The first felt like a nod to the best of Roger's Bond. This is more Moonraker/Austin Powers.
I just looked up this film- and I saw the runtime was 141 minutes. Uhhhhhhh. That is already striking me as too long. Will reserve judgement but that sounds too long for a comedic inflected action movie. Sounds like a drag.
Fell asleep during the first one on the TV - what's the unforgivable bum note?
...but Mark Strong.
Was in The Brothers Grimsby...
He spends half the review talking about one scene, and admittedly the film did push it in that scene but it's not worth punishing the whole movie for that
It is
Unforgivable bum note ... I see what you did there. 🤔
Dont fancy it
Spot on. Both these films are horribly compromised by a couple of terribly badly judged "gags".
7/10
Kermodes voice is hard to understand
Spot-On review. I wish I'd seen this before going. I was within a whisker of leaving the cinema several times (including during the opening scenes) but thought, surely it will get better and reprise something of the the imagination of original. It was a real disappointment.
The only saving grace is that I saw it in one of the cheapest cinemas in the country (£2.50) - and I really feel for those of you are going to be disappointed for £12 or more. Wait for it on TV (if the censors ever pass it on language), there at least you can switch it off for free!
It must be one of the highest scoring uses of the F-word of any mainstream movie (really pathetic how some parts of the audience continued to think this was amusing). The director must have been doing this as a challenge - they're just taking the p!$$ at our expense! Don't Go!
"unforgivable bum note"...not the wisest phrasing choice.
People survive being shot in the head. So bringing him back was ok, especially in a movie with ridiculous tone as Kingsman.
Forget all these bad reviews, this is just as good as the first one.
Was one butt sex joke really that big of a deal to people or have I lost the plot?
Yeah, I never got the fuss.
Agree. What's the big deal?
Pretty much everyone I know who like the film to varying degrees seems to agree on THAT joke coming at the very end of the film - never mind the disturbingly leery way in which the camera treats the situation - leaving a bad taste in the mouth the moment the film is over.
It's not about the joke, it's about how blatantly objectifying the delivery was
It was flat and tasteless but I think it fits the hyper-bond style of the rest of the movie.
I do think that Kermode goes too easy on directors he likes. Spielberg for example always gets too much love from Kermode, sometimes undeserved. Both The Big Friendly giant and The Bridge of Spies were mediocre movies and Kermode praised both.
I don't understand the butt sex joke hate really, but I really respect Kermode's opinion and actually calling out how he sometimes sides with directors, I really didn't like the trailer for this movie it doesn't surprise me it's not any good.
Didn't love the first one but I hated this one before I even saw it as I just can't stand when sequels are made on the basis of the success of the first, seeing Jeff Bridges and JM on the poster is the only reason I went, but they didn't save the film, we hardly see Jeff Bridges and JM, well she was part of a mediocre film and not much to her character, the action sequences from The Hitman's Bodyguard are 10 times much better than this mess.
I have an odd relationship with this film, because I actually saw it before I saw the original. And I thought this one was a good bit of fun. It was stupid as hell, but thoroughly entertaining, and I thought it succeeded for the most part at what it set out to do. So I checked out the first one later on, and yeah... the original is a significantly better film. But the fact that *The Golden Circle* is what got me interested in the franchise kind-of makes it off-limits for me to dislike. I still find it quite entertaining, even if it isn't close to the same level as *The Secret Service.*
Kermode talks too much with the end result being his inability to "cut to the chase".
The film’s well acted, well casted, intriguing & stylish, however the film feels long, the action sequences are poor, the film poorly characterised & unfocused. (57%) (3/5 stars) (mixed)
Anyone else's BBFC title card read Kingsman :The Secret Service and not The Golden Circle ? Not sure if that's a cinema mistake or just the BBFC laziness. good thing Jeff Bridges was being weird in this movie other wise it would have not been worth seeing.
This movie is Mathew Vaughn's FIRST mediocore film, even Stardust was entertaining, hope it's not downhill from here on.
The bum note saved the movie if you ask me. The whole point of it was offend prudish sensibilities and to let you know they were outrageously irreverent.
Really? people getting offended by that joke?
Rigsby 1 I don't think it's the actual joke itself I think it's the glamorisation and the prominence of the joke in that scene.
Is Mark drinking three cups of tea at the same time?
So slaughtering a bunch of innocent people in a church is a "great scene" but showing a girl's bum at the end of a film is "unforgivable?" Interesting.
Your moral standards are very strange Mr Kermode: You praise all of the last three Batman movies in which innocent people are a.killed, b. tortured c. maimed by bombs. These villains in the case of the Joker for example get away with it with a kind slap on the wrist. Bit of hypocrisy here?
The film is hilarious from start to finish can't believe people get offended by it.
Awful turkey of a film. Up there with Charlie's Angels and The Avengers. Can't believe the script was approved.
Which Avengers? The 1998 one or the 2012 one?
The 1998 one. I saw it in France with subtitles and absolutely hated every last second of it. I can't remember why.
It's a horrible movie even without French dubbing. I...god. I don't know if you've seen Batman & Robin or The Dark Tower or anything Akiva Goldsman has touched, but 98 Avengers is that kind of bad.
I quite enjoyed Kingsman: The Golden Circle, but at the same time I've found myself agreeing with a lot of what Mark's saying here. It's crass, it's got some woefully misjudged scenes and jokes, and undermines itself. It goes over the top in a way that isn't the same style in the first film and has very little physicality to it. Yet despite all this, I really enjoyed watching it and I had a lot of fun whilst seeing it. It's not good, it's shameless, but it's SUCH a stupid mess that I enjoyed I can't really do anything other than recommend it.
If you liked the original then I guess you’ll like ‘Kingsman: The Golden Circle’ too - I didn’t. My biggest problem was that it was, once again, puerile with a side serving of casual sexism. I know that it’s meant to be ironic humour, or something similar, but with a 15 certificate I would imagine it leaves itself with a rather narrow age band to aim at. Basically, if you think that grownups saying f**k a lot is funny then this is for you. Other than that, crude national stereotyping and sad, bad scripting is the order of the day. Never have I seen so much acting talent going to waste. I’m sure it will blend quite easily into the planned third film. 1/5
Nothing wrong with a little smutty humour Mr Kermode
Probably true lol. His wife liked Basic Instinct 2, so he had to like it to.
The glasto scene (button pushing and pee line), the marriage obsessed gf, killing off the only female field agent in the first 10 minutes, and the bad guy murdering his cheating gf by blowing her up made this such a misogynistic cringe fest for me. Never mind the shoe-horned Americana stuff. Just awful.
awful film, big let down as i loved the first. i left the cinema half way through - just couldn't take the crapola any more!!!
Can't believe this bloke gets paid to talk such bollucks.
wow - harsh review. I liked quite a lot of it, except for the Burt Reynolds character of course.
Boorish, crass, at times boring, too long.
Toe curlingly uncomfortable and cringy film.
I can't believe Mark is this annoyed by a slightly misogynistic joke in the first film but compliments a scene in which people are mass slaughtered in a church for comedic effect. People need to get their priorities thought out a little more.
Awful film, an awful scene and the CGI was garbage.
Kingsman has to be one or the laziest and boring films made and the fact it has a sequel which will lead to some unimaginative franchise. Which should be no surprise to anyone as studios have conditioned the audience to accept something just being fun.
I can't believe the dismay about one average butt joke. Why are people so easily offended by nothing these days. 'Completely unforgivable'... get a grip
Maybe the problem is your near-total lack of empathy?
Matthew Singh-Dosanjh - whose feelings am I not understanding Matthew? I have experienced loads of things in my life. I'm not sexist and would probably describe myself closer to being a feminist than an alpha male. I think it was a poor and unnecessary joke but I failed to see why that joke would ruin the experience of what was otherwise a really enjoyable film. So lack of empathy for what.... please educate me...
Im actually a really big fan of kingsman and i've defended the princess joke in the last film for years. however the joke in the new film that mark is referring to is unforgivable. it's unnecessary and unfunny and i believe that is why mark found it so reprehensible. when mark said completely unforgivable he was referring to the joke in this new film and he was right it was so childish it spoil the film.
Green Whovian -'ended on an unforgivable bum note.' Surely denotes being offended... especially when he refers to some people being offended... he also refers to him saying 'no' during the screening of the original when he saw the ending. I think I've got the feel of what Mark and many critics felt. And I love Kermode... followed him since his docu on the Exorcist... read two of his books. He loves film and so do I. I think I know his views well enough to infer when he is offended.
Jamie Booth haven't seen the new one my friend... must say the trailer looks pretty vacuous though.
Aw, was it problematic?
Your liked videos list lmao
I bet your empty life is fun af
Why thank you anonymous internet creep.
Great review as always Mark, personally I really enjoyed it, I liked the humour and the action and thought the Villain was great, it's far from perfection and the first film but I found it to just be good fun