Diluting The Brand..."Kingsman: The Golden Circle"

Kingsman: The Golden Circle (2017)

Rated R

Starring Taron Egerton, Mark Strong, Colin Firth, Hanna Alstrom, Edward Holcroft, Julianne Moore, Channing Tatum, Halle Berry, Pedro Pascal, Jeff Bridges, Elton John

Directed by Matthew Vaughn

The Story:

With the Kingsman organization in chaos, Eggsy (Egerton) and Merlin (Strong) head to the States and meet up with another unknown secret service organization: The Statesman. Together, they must foil the plot of the nefarious drug lord, Poppy (Moore) before much of the world population is killed by her poisoned merchandise.

In 2015, Kingsman: The Secret Service took the movie world by surprise, and was a critical and box office smash. I enjoyed it so much, it wound up as my 2nd favorite film of 2015, surpassed only by Ant-Man as favorite film of the year.

As 2017 draws to a close, the eagerly awaited sequel, Kingsman: The Golden Circle is here.

However, as with most sequels, they rarely measure up to the original.

And in 2017, Kingsman is going to have to work really hard just to make the list, let alone come in 2nd place.

The fights, the soundtrack, they've already been done, so Kingsman basically had its own reputation to fight against.

It could be argued, that like Guardians of the Galaxy, the 2nd installment is a virtual retread of the original, just dialed up to 11.

However, unlike that one, which has an emotional arc at the end, this one just seemed to be dialed up to 11 and given an even longer running time with which to wreak havoc.

Cue extra scene time for Elton John and just a lot of extras that put this one so far over-the-top, it makes the first film seem like traditional spyfare at this point.

Sadly, the trailers ruin the fact that they brought back Harry (Firth) but it's a fine return to the fold.

Also amusing was the relationship between Eggsy and Princess Tilde (Alstrom) that could have easily been the throwaway gag of the first film but actually centers and provides much of the emotional distress for the 2nd.

All that said, there is an even more emotionally devastating moment in this film than in the first, and I was none too pleased with the decision.

I won't begrudge the studio a 3rd installment, but it just isn't going to be the same after this.

Final Grade: B-

The Pretty Good Wall At Least..."The Great Wall"

The Great Wall (2017)

Rated PG-13

Starring Matt Damon, Pedro Pascal, Tian Jing, Willem Dafoe, Hanyu Zhang,

Directed by Yimou Zhang

The Story:

Of all the legends of why China built the Great Wall, this legend is by far the Matt Damoniest!

:)

Did anyone else roll their eyes when they saw the trailer for this one?

I know I did.

I think I even groaned and said "oh boy" or "oh brother".

Sure, it's not like that's going to stop me from watching it though, right?

So it arrived, and I figured it might be so excruciatingly painful, it will be a fun movie to review, if I even make it through 20 minutes of the film.

And yet, lo and behold, it was the cheesiest little B-movie action monster film I've seen in ages, and I actually enjoyed it.

Two Westerners (Damon & Pascal) arrive at the Wall looking for black powder to take back home in trade. However, as they've seen the secrets that the wall has tried to keep protected, they will never be allowed to leave.

When the monsters do approach, the two prove invaluable in helping fight off the creatures and are allowed to stay and earn their keep.

Overall, a very beautifully shot movie. It kept my attention throughout and I enjoyed it.

Hey, if given the choice of Matt Damon action films, I'll watch this again before any of the Bourne films.

:)

Final Grade: B- 

We've All Known A Few... "Bloodsucking Bastards"

Bloodsucking Bastards  (2015)

Rated R

Starring Fran Kranz, Emma Fitzpatrick, Joey Kern, Pedro Pascal, Joel Murray,

Directed by Brian James O' Connell

The Story:

Evan (Kranz) thinks he is about to get promoted at work by his boss (Murray). Instead, he loses out to Max (Pascal) and things really begin to change around the office. Add to that, the fact that he lost his girlfriend (Fitzpatrick) due to a bone-headed decision, and suddenly Evan's life is horrible. The only thing that might make it worse, is discovering that his co-workers are being turned into vampires.

Yep, things are about to get worse!

Another fine entry in the horror-comedy genre has arrived, and it's great fun.

The cast sucks you in and you're along for the ride as Evan and his best friend Tim (Kern) slowly unravel the plot to turn everyone into vampires, and then battle for survival and to try and save Amanda.

However, in their defense, the vampire outsourcing program is a very sound fiscal and productive move.

:)

Blood will be shed...launched... across the screen, but that's part of the fun from the film.

It's played straight, and for laughs, all at the same time.

I've seen a lot of enjoyable horror comedy this year. This and Freaks of Nature are the cream of the crop.

Final Grade:  B+