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movie review - Kingsman: The Golden Circle

the journal of Michael Werneburg

twenty-seven years and one million words

Kokubunji, 2024.08.17

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.

rand()m quote

In our society, there seems a general rule that, the more obviously one's work benefits other people, the less one is likely to be paid for it.

—David Graeber