The Kingsman series began in 2015 and emerged as the sleeper-hit of the year. Kingsman: The Secret Service, with its explosive actions, charming characters and wild creativity, captivated audiences who were eager for a sequel. The first movie’s ultra-violence and witty comedy brought attention to a rather obscure comic book series. Now, Kingsman: The Golden Circle, the sequel, is still a wildly entertaining film, yet it lacks the novelty and element of surprise that charmed audiences in its predecessor.

The Golden Circle describes the journey of Eggsy, played by Taron Egerton, in fighting a villainous organization known as the Golden Circle. Operating without the convenience of a home base, Eggsy must ally with an organization of covert agents known as the Statesman to defeat a common enemy.

The action scenes were wildly entertaining; I found the introductory car chase scene to be reminiscent of the creativity and excitement of the first film. Action scenes throughout the film are dynamic and fast-paced, characteristic of an action spy comedy film. The instances of extreme violence, sex and alcoholism are elevated in this film, adding to the mature identity of this movie. Taron Egerton, once again, brings unmatched charm and charisma to his character. His character is arguably the most humorous of the cast and his presence is well-noted in the film; Egerton’s character clearly provides the driving force for the emotional quality of the movie. Overall, there is an excess of characters introduced. There are multiple antagonists with branching storylines, which seems to cause confusion and clutter for many audiences.

However, this film overall lacks a defining trait of the predecessor: effortless comedy. Throughout the movie, it is easy to observe that the humor is frequently forced and does not balance the action elements of the movie. There certainly are funny scenes, yet overall, the comedy is not as consistent as it was in the original Kingsman film.

The most significant flaw of The Golden Circle is its over-reliance on action to supplement the original film; this film falls victim to the trap of producing the sequel with excessive length and unnecessary thrills, both of which end up being pretentious. Sequels often try to create a “bigger” film by overusing the successful elements of the original; in this circumstance, the action and visuals are emphasized again, at the expense of humor, emotion and creativity. As a result, action scenes tend to be lengthy, even excessively lengthy. The 141 minutes film run-time speaks to the film’s incredible length.

Additionally, the movie’s plot is not quite as polished as the original. Possibly due to its reliance on over-the-top action scenes, there is evidently less inventiveness and surprise regarding the storyline in this film. This is a common flaw in action sequels, which are frequently less emotionally invested and meaningful as their predecessors.

Overall, the characters in this movie are superbly well-acted and able to provide some identity, yet most of them lack the distinctive charm and persona of Egerton’s character. The characters of Channing Tatum and Halle Berry, in particular, seem to be forced into the plot, without genuine intention. This film would have been better suited to eliminate some of the action scenes and concentrate on the furthering of character growth and identity. Overall, fans of the original film can appreciate the thrill of the sequel, but will not observe the same eloquence as the original.