While there was a very, very short teaser trailer released in mid-April, the arrival of the full trailer for Kingsman 2: The Golden Circle on the 25th April 2017 provided the first real look at the film. It looked set to be an action-packed sequel with some impressive special effects, which you can see for yourself in the trailer below. It picked up mixed reviews, but if you’re a fan of the original then it will probably be another win for you.
It had its cinematic release at the end of summer 2017, and it follows on from the success of Kingsman: The Secret Service, which introduced the movie adaptation of the Dave Gibbons and Mark Millar comic book to the big screen. It was directed by Matthew Vaughn once again, and you can see from the trailer that the majority of the cast are back for the new film, including the surprise addition of Colin Firth. He appears in the final scene of the trailer with an eye patch, shaving into the screen before Merlin says, “Oh my god, Harry”, so somehow there’s going to be a revival story built into the plot for the sequel.
Release date
Cinema release:
The Kingsman 2: The Golden Circle UK release date was on the 22nd September 2017, which coincided with the film’s release in the US. It was out on the same weekend as sports biopic Borg/McEnroe in the UK, so it should have a clear run for the wider audience box office tickets.
DVD and Blu-ray release:
Both the DVD and Blu-ray are scheduled to arrive in the UK on the 29th January 2018, which is well over a month later than in the US where the film arrived for home entertainment on the 12th December 2017.
Digital release:
The digital release of the film is expected to arrive on iTunes to buy in mid-January, before getting its rental release on the 29th January 2018.
Story
According to the details accompanying the trailer, the new film picks up with Eggsy and the rest of the Kingsman as a missile blows up their headquarters. In the aftermath, they find that the world is being held hostage and as they set out to try to piece together the origin of the attack they discover a US equivalent agency called Statesman. The two must join forces to take on the international threat that has surfaced in a bid to save the world from an enemy that will stop at nothing to destroy them both.
Kingsman 2: The Golden Circle trailer:
Cast
Taron Egerton (Eddie The Eagle) reprises his role as Kingsman agent Gary “Eggsy” Unwin, who took up the post as Galahad following the presumed death of Harry at the end of the first film. Mark Strong (The Imitation Game) is also back as Merlin, along with Sophie Cookson (The Huntsman: Winter’s War) as Roxanne “Roxy” Morton / Lancelot. New additions to the cast include Julianne Moore (The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 2), Halle Berry (X-Men: Days of Future Past), Elton John, Channing Tatum (The Lego Batman Movie) and Jeff Bridges (Hell Or High Water).
You can also see a fleeting shot of Michael Gambon (Dad’s Army) in the Kingsman 2 trailer video above, and if you’re wondering who the blonde girl in the red underwear is around the 1:04 mark, it’s Cara Delavingne’s fellow model sister Poppy Delavingne, who is clearly branching out into movies too.
Production
In addition to Matthew Vaughn (X-Men: First Class) in the director’s chair, he also co-wrote the screenplay with Jane Goldman (Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children). He’s also one of the producers, alongside David Reid and Adam Bohling.
For anyone wondering what the colour blind magic eye image at the beginning of the trailer says or means, it’s Marv, which is director Matthew Vaughn’s production company, which is behind the making of the film. You can see more on the production at the official Twitter page for the film.
First impressions
We had a mixed response to the first film, despite initial high anticipation, but the arrival of the Kingsman 2: The Golden Circle trailer has done enough to at least pique some level of curiosity. The intensity of the action is strong and the cast has got potential, especially the addition of Julianne Moore, Halle Berry, Jeff Bridges and Michael Gambon. You might want to hope to be wowed, but prepare for some disappointment. However, this is not the kind of film that’s meant to be taken seriously, so it could just have enough entertainment value to impress its fans, despite the mixed reviews.
The introduction of the Statesman team looks like it could be pretty funny and if that panning shot half way through the trailer is a hint at a secret Golden Circle evil lair, then things could be on the up. The robot arm bad guy doesn’t really do much to add to the film, looking like a pale comparison to Sofia Boutella’s Gazelle in Kingsman: The Secret Service, but the rest of the special effects are pretty much spot on.
