“Kingsman: The Golden Circle” is directed by Matthew Vaughn and is the sequel to the surprise hit “Kingsman: The Secret Service.” The original movie was a non-stop adrenaline rush with exciting and stylistic action scenes. The film also provides an excellent commentary and parody of spy/action movies, directly calling attention to several spy movie tropes. “The Secret Service” blended humor with violence very well, showing extremely graphic fight scenes in between moments of comedy. Much of the original cast reprised their roles in the sequel, with Taren Egerton returning as Eggsy and Colin Firth returning as Harry Hart aka Agent Galahad.

The sequel was highly anticipated by many, wondering how Vaughn would be able to capitalize on the success of the first film. Several noteworthy actors were added to the cast, including Channing Tatum, Jeff Bridges, Halle Berry and Julianne Moore, who plays the main antagonist. Without the need to supply an origin for the main characters, there is more potential for a dynamic plot.

Like the “The Secret Service,” “The Golden Circle” provided amazing action sequences. Using long takes and intense close-ups, the audience can feel every blow that the character is making. The film gave you absolutely no time to breathe, beginning with an intense fight/car chase scene scored by Prince’s “Let’s Go Crazy.” I thoroughly enjoyed the characters use of their surroundings as weapons as well. Taren Egerton is also an excellent leading man, holding his own in a cast of older, much more experienced actors. He’s confident, masculine and funny, but still manages to show off Eggsy’s sensitive side with his relationship with his girlfriend. My favorite character, however, was Agent Whiskey, played by Pedro Pascal. While I might be biased because I’m a HUGE Pedro Pascal fan, his character was so fun to watch interact with the rest of the cast. While I’m not a huge fan of where the character ended up at the end of the film, Pascal did an excellent job portraying the character. It’s hard to discuss the main plot of the movie without sharing any spoilers, but I did appreciate that the plot directly deals with a real-world problem and addresses the moral grey areas that exist when discussing certain issues. However, while “The Golden Circle” was a very fun movie to watch, it failed to recognize what made the first movie great.

First off, “The Golden Circle” was much more crowded than its predecessor, and it often seemed like the A-list actors that were used in the movie were wasted. This was especially the case with Julianne Moore’s character, who I thought received minimal screen time. My biggest critique, however, is that instead of continuing to poke fun at the spy movie tropes like the original movie did, the film bought into them instead. Part of what made “The Secret Service” great was it directly calling attention to and referencing stereotypical spy movie moments. “The Golden Circle” came across as just another spy movie, except it was more graphic. The parodic nature of the first film was almost completely absent here, which ultimately misses the point of the franchises role in pop culture; to provide counter programming for people who are tired of the same cliché action movies. Instead, “The Golden Circle” adds to oversaturated market of action films.

While “Kingsman: The Golden Circle” does have its problems, I still enjoyed myself thoroughly and would recommend other to see it. However, if you’re expecting a movie similar to the original, you will probably be disappointed.