After their headquarters is destroyed by a drug kingpin, the Kingsman must team up with their American “cousins” known as the “Statesman” in order to save the world once again.

Ever since I saw Kingsman: The Secret Service two years ago, I knew that there should be a sequel, and that it would definitely be worth waiting for. I have to disagree with the disappointed thoughts from critics because I had a blast with the new Kingsman film. Matthew Vaughn brings back everything we loved from the first film and doesn’t lose his grip on the insanity, fun, and awesome characters. The action is over-the-top, entertaining, and mindless, and although not as bloody as I expected, Vaughn’s style is very special and works so well with the action sequences in the film. There’s a certain long-shot sequence that didn’t top the church scene from the first movie for me, but is still a very well-directed scene. It’s not as memorable as the first one, as the violence, music, and directing in the first one felt more fresh, but this movie brings back what I had so much fun with in the predecessor. The soundtrack that includes John Denver and Elton John (who also appears in the film) is also great and feels very fitting in the film.

Taron Egerton is once again fantastic as the protagonist Eggsy who brings so much charm and heart, and I believe he’ll surely be cast in a lot more roles after his breakthrough in these films. Mark Strong gives as much humor and fun as Merlin, who is as hilarious as he as when we met him in the first film. His character has a lot of great moments and brings lots of heart to the film. The new cast includes Channing Tatum, Halle Berry, Pedro Pascal, and Jeff Bridges. Pascal steals a few scenes as Agent Whiskey who is lots of fun to watch and well-written, and Berry is also a good addition to the franchise, but Tatum and Bridges, although very good, weren’t in the film as much as I hoped. Colin Firth’s return is nice but felt a little too forced and heavy handed. Firth tried his best to be as great as he was in the first movie, but the excuse for his return was a little cliche and his character didn’t bring the amusement we got from him when we first met him. I think we would have been much better off not getting that information from the trailers and having the surprise saved for the film, even though his return is revealed in the film’s first act. My main problem in The Golden Circle is the villain, who is ridiculously eccentric, dull and annoying to watch on screen, and her motive completely makes no sense. What made Samuel L. Jackson’s villain from The Secret Service so great is that he had a feeling of charisma and lots of humor, and that we were able to enjoy his villain. Although he wasn’t very menacing, he was plenty of fun and delivered a new sense to his villain, and Moore definitely gives a shot at that sense of charm but ends up making her character feel heavy-handed and boring.

Although some my disagree, I believe The Golden Circle was able to do what a good sequel should do – bring back and build on what appealed from the predecessor, and bring in something new as well. Vaughn has a very recognizable style when it comes to action and editing, and although this wasn’t one of his best, I wasn’t let down by what I got. The characters are built on very well, both the old and new ones,  with arcs that include Eggsy’s romance with the princess of Sweden and the return of another character from the first film. The story at times has elements that don’t make much sense, and a minor subplot about the President of the United States wasn’t very interesting, but I had such a great time seeing the characters return with more great writing, action, and story. If you want to go to the theaters to have a very fun time and get your mind off life, then this is definitely the movie you should see.

Kingsman: The Golden Circle has received mixed reviews from critics, and it’s definitely not as good and original as the first film, but I wasn’t really let down by what I saw. From the awesome action to the great humor and cast, action fans and fans of the predecessor will likely enjoy it like I did.