Kingsman: The Golden Circle isn’t a film Matthew Vaughn had in him. It’s a film that was squeezed out of him, perhaps as leverage for something he has real passion for. It’s his weakest one, by far – his best, in my unconventional opinion, is his other, more minor Mark Millar comic adaptation, Kick-Ass. There’s none of the exuberance, none of the tongue-in-cheek wit, and none of the subversive charm one associates with a Matthew Vaughn film to be seen here. Were Kingsman a more established property, fandom would be picketing Twitter and calling for boycotts by now.

As long as you don’t expect it to be a genre-defying blockbuster, get comfortable and enjoy ‘The Golden Circle’ for what it’s worth. If nothing else, check it out for Elton John playing an extremely colorful version of himself – and that’s saying something!

I, personally, do not remember when was the last time I saw such suave, sexy & slick sequences in one film. IMAX is highly recommended but if you aren’t able to access one, watch in the best cinema available near you. Miss this, but do no watch on your cellphones. Feast on this astonishing cinematic experience only in the cinema hall.

While you might be briefly fascinated to behold the spoofy onscreen antics on display here, it’s not something that will hold your attention for long. The narrative is basically a gushing parade of nonsense, silly, showy pyrotechnics presented with sly effrontery and irksome guile.

Pedro Pascal is surprise package of this strictly okay film…

Kingsman: The Golden Circle is a decent comic book-esque action packed film.

Each step along the treacherous path needs to be placed with utmost caution because lush landscapes and effable casts are great motivators to make a film but a few steps in the wrong direction leave an explosion of undercooked sub-plots, extended runtimes and unthreatening villains that the movie might not recover from.

With little going on to redeem this Bond-riffing spy sequel (unless you’re an Elton John fan), we recommend a re-watch of the first film, instead.