Kingsman: The Golden Circle

"Managing to be even more ridiculous than its predecessor, Kingsman: The Golden Circle sadly lacks the surprise factor of Matthew Vaughn’s 2014 breath of fresh (sometimes wonderfully foul) air. Unable to repeat the apprenticeship aspect of The Secret Service, its sequel kicks off with formerly-wayward youth Eggsy now a fully-fledged Kingsman agent, and attempts to fill the void left by a relatable underdog tale with overstuffed trans-Atlantic adventure. Uniformly enjoyable viewing, if seldom truly thrilling, the gags come at a clip, Vaughn’s action sequences remain distinctively staged, and callbacks to the prior installment earn solid chuckles."

"It is all aggressively stylised, abusively fast-paced and ear-bleedingly loud, relying so heavily on CGI that nothing - not one thing - seems to correspond to the real world."

"... a squicky melange of sloppy plot mechanics and potentially problematic stuff..."

"Fun, fleeting entertainment if you’re after more of the same, but fails to carve out any fresh ground."

"This crazily overlong and tiresome follow-up doesn't seem to have the first idea what to do with itself - not least when it comes to its much-vaunted all-star cast, the majority of whom are barely even in it."

"An exhausting, exhilarating watch."

"It is the endearing cast of Kingsman: The Golden Circle who elevate what might otherwise be merely a three-star, mediocre, cashing-in sequel..."

"Has moments of exhiliration, but feels a little too in love with itself to remain objective enough to know when to stop."

"Considerable shrewdness is applied to the conception and execution of nearly every scene to make this old spy stuff feel fresh, which it mostly does."

"As ultraviolent as the first film, and as ultrasmutty, The Golden Circle will leave the Kingsfans grinning, even if its characters have less growing to do this time around."