It has been several months since the events of the first film, and Eggsy (Taron Egerton) is now a full-fledged segret agent, moving into Harry’s (Colin Firth) home and taking over the moniker of Galahad. His relationship with Princess Tilde (Hanna Alström) is going great, but sometimes he finds it a bit tough to balance his love life with saving the world.

As Kingsman: The Golden Circle opens, Eggsy finds himself under attack by former classmate Charlie (Edward Holcroft), who is now working for evil American drug lord Poppy (Julianne Moore), head of the Golden Circle cartel. Poppy is hiding out in the jungles of Cambodia, where she has built a secret lair that looks like it is straight out of 1960s Americana, complete with a diner, movie theater, bowling alley, nail salon, and more. Poppy just considers herself a successful business woman and is tired of having to live in hiding. So she has laced her drugs with a dangerous poison and demands the world legalize her products and end the war on drugs, in exchange for the antidote.

After Poppy manages to wipe out much of the Kingsman infrastructure, Eggsy and Merlin (Mark Strong) are forced to enact the Doomsday Protocol, which sends them to Kentucky, USA. There they discover the Kingsman’s American counterpart, the Statesman. This distinguished organization of cowboy secret agents has a long history much like the Kingsman. The Statesman finds its roots in the prohibition, and uses a distillery as a front for their spy business. Heading up the Statesman is Champ (Jeff Bridges), who assigns agents Tequila (Channing Tatum) and Whiskey (Pedro Pascal) to help Eggsy and Merlin in their mission to save the world. And assisting them back at home base is shy technician Ginger (Halle Berry).

While the original Kingsman movie still remains my favorite of the franchise (so far), Kingsman: The Golden Circle comes in a close second. This follow-up does an excellent job of expanding the world while also recapturing the same over-the-top action, excitement and humor of the first film. The action sequences are just as breathtaking and stunning as those of The Secret Service. Everything seems so realistic even though what his happening on screen is completely bonkers. I have no idea how they pull these shots off, but they are absolutely amazing to watch!

The writers have done a great job of extending the story of the first film, providing some unexpected tie-ins and twists. I also really enjoyed the expansion of the mythology to include the American spies. The Statesman’s headquarters, weapons and methods of fighting are well-grounded in the American cowboy way of life, and provide an interesting contrast to the proper British mentality of the Kingsman. There is an interesting culture clash when these two groups first meet, however, when they work together, it is like they were meant to be a single team. The American cast is fantastic and really do a really good job of making their characters feel like they belong in this same world as the Kingsman.

Poppy is a wonderful new villain. She is so over-the-top and campy, much like Valentine was in the first film. She may look like a happy 1960s housewife, but she she is a ruthless killer who will stop at nothing to build her empire and take over the world. She has even kidnapped Elton John and brought him to her Small Town USA lair to perform at her will. Elton John is absolutely hysterical in this film, stealing every scene he is in, playing a heightened version of himself.

Overall, the film does a really good job of providing each character with an interesting story arc, and a bit of character growth. I could easily see this franchise going on for many more films, and I would definitely welcome the opportunity to see more of this universe, and these fun characters saving the world from crazy new villains.

FOX’s Blu-ray release looks and sounds excellent. The colors are rich and the picture is clean and crisp, remaining quite detailed throughout even the most action-packed scenes. The audio track is also quite impressive, making extensive use of all the channels to fill your living room and provide an immersive experience, making the excitement on screen come alive. Explosions rock the subwoofer, rain sounds like it’s coming from overhead, and the action on screen feels like it’s coming from every direction. The disc also contains an extensive, nearly two-hour behind-the-scenes look at the making of the film, a separate behind-the-scenes look at the film’s exciting opening car chase, as well as several photo galleries and trailers.

What’s Included:

Film: (2:21:02)

Blu-ray:

• 1080p / Widescreen 2:39:1
• Audio: English DTS-HD Master Audio 7.1, English Descriptive Audio 5.1, Spanish Dolby Digital 5.1, French Dolby Digital 5.1
• Subtitles: English SDH, Spanish, French

DVD:

• 480p / Anamorphic Widescreen 2:39:1
• Audio: English Dolby Digital 5.1, English Descriptive Audio 5.1, Spanish Dolby Digital 2.0, French Dolby Digital 2.0
• Subtitles: English SDH, Spanish, French

Digital HD (Code May Not Be Valid After 2019):

• Digital HD copy redeemable via iTunes, Movies Anywhere, Google Play, or Vudu
  (While it defaults to Movies Anywhere, we recommend redeeming via iTunes instead so that you receive a 4K version in iTunes—the HD version will also be added to your Movies Anywhere account by iTunes and will propagate to any other services you have linked to your Movies Anywhere account.)

Extras:

• Kingsman: Inside The Golden Circle (1:57:13)
  An extensive nine part behind-the-scenes look at the making of the film. Includes interviews with director/producer/writer Matthew Vaughn, film editor Eddie Hamilton, production designer Darren Gilford, hair designer Lisa Tomblin, make-up designer Amanda Knight, Whiskey tricking double Michael ‘Loop’ Rawlins, VFX supervisor Mark Breakspear, CG supervisor Jim McLean, animation supervisor Max Tyrie, compositing supervisor Chris Zeh, CG supervisor Fabio Zangla, VFX supervisor Chris Lawrence, special effects supervisor Steven Warner, capture supervisor Richard Graham, senior VFX supervisor Angus Bickerton, VFX supervisor Mark Breakspear, sound supervisor Matthew Collinge, co-composer Matthew Margeson, and stars Mark Strong (“Merlin”), Halle Berry (“Ginger”), Julianne Moore (“Poppy”), Colin Firth (“Harry Hart”), Taron Egerton (“Eggsy”), Edward Holcroft (“Charlie”), Channing Tatum (“Tequila”), Pedro Pascal (“Whiskey”), and Jeff Bridges (“Champ”). Play All or select from:
  • Distilling The Story: Kingsman Returns (13:20)
    The cast and crew talk about the story of the sequel, the characters, bringing in American culture, and centering the evil plot around another social issue that sparks debate.
  • Trafficker, Tailor, Southerner, Spy (21:25)
    The cast and crew discuss the challenges of making a sequel, the new cast and characters, opening up the world, and bringing back Harry.
  • Poppy’s Special Guest: Elton John (5:19)
    The director talks about writing a role for Elton John, and the cast talks about working with the musician.
  • Nefarious Lairs & High-Falutin’ Headquarters (12:35)
    The cast and crew talk about the American design, creating the sets like the distillery and Poppy Land, mixing practical sets with visual effects, and shooting in the Italian mountains.
  • Suited And Booted (4:20)
    A look at the costumes.
  • Weapons of Choice (4:22)
    A look at the new weapons and gadgets.
  • Brothers In Arms (12:08)
    A look at the stunts, fight scenes, and action sequences.
  • Doomsday Protocol: Visual Effects (25:01)
    A look at creating the film’s visual effects, including the robot dogs, the spinning cable car, the beauty bot, the mountain hut goo explosion, the robotic arm, the underwater car, the manor explosion, and more.
  • End Game (20:16)
    A discussion about the challenges of editing the film down into its final cut/run time, a look at recording additional audio for the film, and getting the proper sound mix and orchestration.
• Black Cab Chaos: Anatomy of a Killer Chase (12:49)
  Behind-the-scenes look at the cab fight/chase scene that opens the film. Includes interviews with director/producer/writer Matthew Vaughn, stars Taron Egerton & Edward Holcroft, art director James Morrall, senior VFX supervisor Angus Bickerton, special effects supervisor Steven Warner, special effects senior technician James Ferguson, VFX supervisor Chris Lawrence, and CG supervisor Fabio Zangla.
• Kingsman Archives
  Collection of photo galleries that can either be stepped through manually, or set to auto-advance every 5 seconds. The slideshows are broken down into:
  • Concept Art — Original concept sketches and paintings for the sets and costumes.
    • Sets – 18 Images (1:33)
    • Costumes – 18 Images (1:33)
  • Stills — Production photos.
    • Behind The Scenes – 9 Images (:48)
    • Sets – 16 Images (1:23)
    • Props – 4 Images (:23)
    • The Cast – 23 Images (1:58)
• Theatrical Trailers (3:53)
  Play All or select from “Red Band Trailer 1” and “Red Band Trailer 2”.

Final Thoughts:

Kingsman: The Golden Circle is an excellent follow-up to the original Kingsman film. It does a wonderful job of expanding the universe of the franchise and introducing some fun new characters and villains, while also recapturing the same look and feel of the original. The sequel has some amazing, over-the-top action sequences, and lots of humor. The Blu-ray looks and sounds amazing, and the disc contains a solid selection of bonus material. This is a must own for any fan of the original film, and certainly worth checking out for anyone looking for a fun action/spy movie.