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The Kingsman comes full circle–and it’s Golden

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October 20th is a greatly anticipated day on this side of the world because Kingsman: The Golden Circle, the sequel of the action-comedy spy film Kingsman: The Secret Service, will be released here in China. Matthew Yang (10A) recalled the first movie of Kingsman as “a hilarious comedy with brief tints of realism”. Indeed,  what was originally a movie “made for fun”, has become an internationally renowned movie series.

It all started four years ago in a pub, when Matthew Vaughn and Mark Miller (director and producer), complained how spy movies had become too serious. “Let’s do a fun [one]!” So Miller converted a comic book into a movie script, and so birthed the idea for Kingsman: The Secret Service. Vaughn and Miller made the movie without any concern for profit, neglecting the international audience and stubbornly sticking to British humor. “You know, I’m English, there’s a British crew, there’s a celebration of Britain and Englishness…If Americans aren’t gonna get it, they’re not gonna get it. That’s not my problem,” Vaughn said, commenting on the British aspects of the film.

Indulging in British jokes and comical (sometimes even considered as stereotypical or violent by critics) plots, Vaughn and Miller certainly had fun making the movie, and decided that “if the people like it, we’ll do more of it”. Surprisingly, this carefree approach to movie production actually won over a wide audience, earning $414 million worldwide and becoming Vaughn’s most successful film, surpassing his other famous works such as X-men: First Class and Kick-Ass.

(Warning: spoilers ahead)

The original film’s huge success promised the return of Kingsman this year. Besides returning actors such as Taron Egerton as Eggsy and Mark Strong as Merlin, there are also several new actors, including Jeff Bridges as Champagne, the head of an American spy organization the “Statesman”, Julianne Moore as Poppy Adams, the villainous head of drug cartel “The Golden Circle”, and even Pedro Pascal from Game of Thrones as Jack Daniels.

However, many fans were upset that Colin Firth couldn’t be a part of the sequel since his character Harry Hart died in the first movie. Firth, the leading actor in many major films such as The King’s Speech, Pride And Prejudice, and Shakespeare In Love, is one of the reasons why the first Kingsman movie was such a big hit. Vaughn is also particularly fond of Firth. “You know, the biggest risk of the movie was casting Colin…We were like, ‘Will anyone buy Colin Firth as a dapper guy that also kicks [butt]?’ And I think he pulled it off. He worked so hard, and he’s the nicest guy, a true gentleman.” With such support from both the audience and director, Vaughn found a way for Firth to come back.

All in all, Kingsman: The Golden Circle has kept its original British cast and humor, while adding in new aspects such as drug dealing and spy-collaborations––let’s hope it will be as entertaining as the first!

Featured Image by Gage Skidmore courtesy of Wikimedia Commons

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