movie review - Kingsman: The Golden Circle
the journal of Michael Werneburg
twenty-seven years and one million words
After a generally good first "Kingsman" movie, the second was a chaotic mess. For some reason, I decided to see this third installment. Despite a terrific cast, the plot trips over itself from the outset and a seeming conflict in exactly what its makers were trying to say hobbles the thing as it moves forward. I'll explain: the subject is drug use, and for some reason they decided that this should involve self-destructive drug use by some of the protagonists. I don't know if this was meant to raise stakes, or to put the main character in a solo situation, but I found it heavy-handed and ill-fitting for the characters in question. Also, because the movie veers away from actually showing drug use, it's tell-not-show, so as the viewer we are scrambling to keep up and/or care.
Not recommended. I really have to stop watching these things.