Kingsman: The Golden Circle is a 2017 British spy action comedy film directed by Matthew Vaughn and written by Jane Goldman and Vaughn. Based on the Millarworld comic book series The Secret Service (later retitled Kingsman) by Mark Millar and Dave Gibbons, in turn based on a concept by Millar and Vaughn, the film is the sequel to Kingsman: The Secret Service (2014) and the second installment in the Kingsman film series. The film features an ensemble cast consisting of Colin Firth, Taron Egerton, Mark Strong, Sophie Cookson, Edward Holcroft, and Hanna Alström, who reprise their roles from the first film, with Julianne Moore, Halle Berry, Pedro Pascal, Elton John, Channing Tatum, and Jeff Bridges joining the cast. The film follows members of Kingsman needing to team up with their American counterpart, Statesman, after the Kingsman organization is crippled and the world is held hostage by Poppy Adams and her drug cartel, "The Golden Circle."
Plot[]
A year after the events of the previous film, Eggsy Unwin has officially joined Kingsman, taken his late mentor Harry Hart's title of Galahad, and begun a relationship with Tilde, Crown Princess of Sweden. On his way home from the tailor shop, he is ambushed by Charlie Hesketh, a former Kingsman trainee who lost his arm and vocal chords (but was inadvertently saved by Eggsy) during the Valentine incident. Eggsy evades Charlie and his henchmen in a car chase across London, but Charlie's cybernetic arm, severed in the skirmish, hacks into the Kingsman servers through the computer in Eggsy's car. With the information gained, Poppy Adams, the leader of the world's largest drug cartel, the Golden Circle, launches missiles that destroy the Kingsman headquarters and kill all of the agents in Britain, aside from Eggsy and Merlin.
Eggsy and Merlin follow an emergency doomsday protocol which leads them to Statesman, the American counterpart of Kingsman posing as a bourbon whiskey business based in Kentucky. There, they discover that Harry survived his shooting by Valentine[N 1] thanks to Statesman technology, but has amnesia, which can only be cured by reliving a traumatic event. Statesman head Champagne offers the organization's support to bring down the Golden Circle. Statesman Agent Tequila develops a blue rash and shows signs of mania, ultimately being replaced by another agent, Whiskey, as Eggsy's partner. Eggsy plants a tracking device on Charlie's ex-girlfriend Clara Von Gluckfberg during a sexual encounter at Glastonbury Festival, but when he tells Princess Tilde beforehand what he has to do, it puts a strain on their relationship.
Eggsy later manages to cure Harry's amnesia by threatening to shoot a Cairn Terrier puppy that resembles Harry's late dog Mr. Pickle. During their next mission, Poppy broadcasts a message announcing she has added a toxin to all her drugs which causes users to develop symptoms like Tequila's, before succumbing to paralysis and ultimately death. She offers the antidote to the world if the President of the United States will end the war on drugs and grant her cartel immunity from prosecution. The President publicly negotiates, but secretly decides to let everyone affected die, as he is more than happy to get rid of all drug users and put Poppy out of business.
Eggsy, Harry and Whiskey track Clara to a Golden Circle facility in Italy. Eggsy manages to steal a sample of the antidote, but it is accidentally broken by Whiskey during an attack by the Golden Circle's henchmen, leading Harry to suspect him of working against them and breaking the sample on purpose. Harry shoots Whiskey in the head, but Eggsy, believing Harry to be delusional due to an incomplete recovery, saves him with the same technology that Statesman used to save Harry. Princess Tilde calls Eggsy in a manic state, showing she has symptoms as a result of smoking cannabis. Eggsy, Harry and Merlin discover the location of Poppy's hideout in Cambodia, "Poppy Land", and fly there.
While reconnoitering Poppy Land, Eggsy steps on a land mine, but Merlin sacrifices himself to save him and Harry. Eggsy and Harry storm through the lair; Eggsy fights and kills Charlie, while Harry destroys Poppy's robotic attack dogs with the help of Elton John, who had been kidnapped by Poppy and forced to sing for her. They secure the laptop controlling the drones that are able to deliver the antidote worldwide and inject Poppy with a concentrated dose of her own toxin and heroin to dull her senses and let her guard down. Poppy gives them the laptop password for the antidote, but she dies from an accidental overdose. Whiskey interrupts them before they can deploy the drones, revealing that he has a personal vendetta, and wants all drug users to die. Years prior, his pregnant wife was killed in a robbery committed by two methamphetamine users. Eggsy and Harry fight and kill Whiskey, then activate the drones, delivering the antidote worldwide.
In the aftermath, the President is impeached for conspiring to let the victims die and Statesman purchases a distillery in Scotland to help rebuild Kingsman. Statesman tech support specialist Ginger Ale is appointed to the position formerly held by Whiskey, Eggsy marries Princess Tilde and Tequila joins Kingsman, which acquires a new tailor shop in London.
Cast[]
- Colin Firth as Harry Hart / Galahad
- Julianne Moore as Poppy Adams[7]
- Taron Egerton as Gary "Eggsy" Unwin / Galahad
- Mark Strong as Merlin
- Halle Berry as Ginger Ale
- Elton John as himself
- Channing Tatum as Tequila
- Jeff Bridges as Champagne "Champ"
- Pedro Pascal as Jack Daniels / Whiskey
- Edward Holcroft as Charles "Charlie" Hesketh
- Hanna Alström as Tilde, Crown Princess of Sweden
- Bruce Greenwood as the President of the United States
- Emily Watson as Chief of Staff Fox
- Sophie Cookson as Roxanne "Roxy" Morton / Lancelot
- Michael Gambon as Arthur
Sequels[]
Kingsman: The Golden Circle (2017) will be followed by a prequel: The King's Man is scheduled for 2020 and a sequel and a spin-off: Kingsman 3 and Statesman are in development.
Gallery[]
Trivia[]
| Kingsman |
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| Kingsman: The Secret Service (2014), Kingsman: The Golden Circle (2017), The King's Man (2020), Kingsman 3, Statesman |