KINGSMAN : THE GOLDEN CIRCLE - Tuesday 26th September 2017.

'KINGSMAN : THE GOLDEN CIRCLE' which I saw earlier last week, is the follow up film to 2014's first instalment in this growing action spy comedy franchise 'Kingsman : The Secret Service' which was both a critical and commercial success taking in US$415M from its US$81M budget outlay. Now some two years later Matthew Vaughn returns to the Director's chair for this hotly anticipated, eagerly awaited, much hyped sequel, on which he also Co-Produces and Co-Writes the Screenplay based on the comic book series of the same name by Mark Miller and Dave Gibbons. Released in the UK and the US at the same time as in Australia, the film cost US$104M, has so far taken US$193M, and has garnered mixed Reviews from Critics largely about the ensemble of new characters, the heavily stylised action sequences, the overly long running time and the lack of originality that heralded the first film. Vaughn has confirmed that he has a treatment already in mind for a third film in the franchise and has indicted Dwayne Johnson might be the ideal candidate to play the arch villain next time around.

This instalment takes place some twelve months following the death of Harry Hart (aka Galahad) at the hands of Richmond Valentine in the previous film. Eggsy Unwin (Taron Egerton) has subsequently taken on the mantle of Galahad and is shacking up in some well to do mews house in London with Princess Tilde of Sweden (Hanna Alstrom). The action ramps up from the get go with a kinetic car chase sequence as Eggsy's private Kingsman issue London cab is ambushed by former Kingsman trainee turned rogue Charlie Hesketh (Edward Holcroft) who lost an arm and his vocal chords during the final climax that saw an end to Valentine and his plans. As the two wrestle in a well choreographed, albeit well over the top, car chase and in vehicle close quarter fight sequence across the night time streets of London, Eggsy is able to thwart his adversary and effect his getaway. He dispatches his adversary through the windscreen of his London cab, although far from dead, leaving behind his bionic arm attached to the hand grip above the door. Eggsy disappears into the River Thames as his cab assumes submarine qualities and enters an underwater subterranean access hatch deep within the bowels of Kingsman London HQ.

Hesketh's dismembered bionic arm however, can be remotely accessed, and so it hacks into the cabs on board computer system and downloads every piece of intelligence from the Kingsman's servers. While Eggsy is otherwise engaged with his Princess meeting her parents for the first time in Sweden, a co-ordinated missile attack takes out the Kingsman HQ and all of the Agents scattered around the British countryside. Only Eggsy survives having been out of the country, and Merlin (Mark Strong) whose pay grade kept him off the Kingsman files.

Following the Doomsday Protocol which Merlin is aware of, leads them to reveal a secretly stashed bottle of aged 'Statesman' Kentucky Bourbon Whiskey. The pair drown their sorrows and toast their dearly departed colleagues downing almost the entire contents of the bottle, when the Kingsman insignia is revealed on the reverse side of the label. Seeing this as a vital clue, they head for Kentucky, recognising that there is some kind of connection here.

Arriving at the Statesman Whiskey distillery they are greeted by Agent Tequila (Channing Tatum) who treats them with suspicion and starts to interrogate them, revealing that Harry Hart (Colin Firth) is in fact alive having survived the gunshot wound to his head, but is suffering from acute amnesia. Agent Ginger Ale (Halle Berry) intervenes and confirms their identities as allies from Britain. In turn they are introduced to Champagne ('Champ' for short) (Jeff Bridges) who heads up Statesman and he briefs Eggsy and Merlin about a terrorist organisation known as The Golden Circle which they are investigating.

Tequila develops a mysterious blue rash that covers his body, and so is taken off the case and is replaced by Agent Whiskey (Pedro Pascal). Eggsy and Whiskey's first mission is to trace Hesketh's girlfriend Clara Von Gluckfberg (Poppy Delevingne) which takes them to the Glastonbury Music Festival in England, and plant a tracking device on her. Mission accomplished Eggsy returns to Kentucky to see if he can get Harry to snap out of his amnesia. Eggsy manages to successfully trigger Harry's memories by threatening to shoot a Yorkshire Terrier puppy that reminds Harry of his dearly beloved former companion pet Mr. Pickles that has subsequently moved on to the great kennel in the sky.

Meanwhile, back in some remote Cambodian jungle hideaway sits Poppy Adams (Julianne Moore) who heads up the largest single drug cartel in the world, is as a result the worlds richest woman and an aspiring megalomaniac, but is firmly off everyone's radar and she's not to happy about that! She broadcasts a message around the world that she has placed a toxin in every recreational drug available on the market and which she so successfully peddles. This toxin causes a blue rash to develop at first passing through another three phases - manic behaviour, paralysis and ultimately death most hideous. She has a fast acting antidote however, in plentiful supply, and offers it to the world if the President of the United States (Bruce Greenwood) ends his War on Drugs and offers her and her business interests immunity from the law. The President decides to quarantine every effected user across the USA by racking, stacking and packing 'em high in cages in stadia around the country. Included in those, is his Chief of Staff, Fox (Emily Watson).

Merlin intercepts a phone call from Clara to Hesketh saying that she is infected and has the blue rash. Hesketh orders his girlfriend to meet in Italy where he will give her the antidote. Eggsy and Whiskey infiltrate the mountain top hideaway where the antidote is being stored by the millions in single serve viles. There Eggsy steals a single sample for duplicating and in their hasty retreat down the snowy mountain in a cable car, he and Whiskey fall victim to Hesketh's remote control trickery as the cable car goes rogue, breaks free of its cable and plummets down the mountain towards a ski lodge. Needless to say Eggsy saves the day, and retreating to a safe house they are quickly discovered by Poppy's henchmen.

In the exchange of gun fire Whiskey causes the sample bottle to smash to the ground. Harry shoots Whiskey in the head at point blank range believing that there is something not quite right about that Statesman. Eggsy is mortified by Harry's actions and quickly administers an alpha-gel pack to Whiskey's head, as they did with Harry when he was shot, to preserve the integrity of the brain as much as possible and begin the healing process by using rapid acting nano technology. Later, Princess Tilde calls Eggsy in a state of desperate panic saying that she has developed a blue rash!

Later the three amigos discover the secret jungle hideaway of The Golden Circle at 'Poppy Land' in deepest darkest Cambodia, and so they fly via Statesman private plane to that destination - absolute first class all the way with all the amenities and 'toys' on hand. Upon landing Eggsy treads on a concealed land mine in the undergrowth on the edge of Poppy Land. Merlin rescues him using a freezing spray, but in so doing treads on another and has no freeze spray stuff left, and so chooses to do the noble thing and sacrifice himself while taking out the armed security guards in the process. It's a tearful farewell as Eggsy and Harry look on.

Storming the compound Eggsy and Harry first take out the numerous henchmen. Hesketh with his bionic arm confronts Eggsy, but ultimately the good guy wins the day, while Harry tussles with two fierce robotic canines that are Hell bent on ripping him to shreds. With Hesketh dead and the two dogs defunct, the two Kingsman turn attention to Poppy and retrieving the briefcase and the access code that will mobilise the drones around the world sending the antidote to rescue all those blue rashed individuals knocking on death's door. Eggsy injects Poppy with a stronger dose of her own toxin cooked up by Merlin, and as a result she succumbs to the accelerated effects very quickly and dies on the floor, but not before muttering the access code password.

Before Eggsy and Harry can activate the access code in drops Agent Whiskey, fully recovered from his head shot thanks to the fast acting alpha-gel treatment administered by Eggsy earlier. It turns out that Whiskey has an ulterior motive for working against the Kingsman and the Statesman in that he lost his pregnant wife to two drug users when she got caught in an exchange of gun fire, and now he is on a personal crusade working rogue to eliminate all drug users. Eggsy and Harry fight with Whiskey until the latter is man handled upside down into a meat grinder, coming out as prime mincemeat the other end. They key in the access code to the briefcase console, so activating thousands of drones around the world to carry the antidote to save millions of lives.

In the wash up, Chief of Staff Fox has the President impeached for conspiring to commit genocide on an unprecedented scale against all drug users, Champagne makes an announcement that the Statesman have purchased a Scottish whisky distillery to help rebuild Kingsman and in the process offers either one of them the opportunity to step into Whiskey's empty shoes, but they both decline. Ginger Ale steps up and is accepted as Whiskey's replacement. Eggsy marries his blushing Swedish bride, and Agent Tequila joins the Kingsman.

There's a lot to like about this film! If you're a follower of Saville Row gentlemen's fashion, kinetic over the top stylised action sequences, tongue in cheek wise-crack humour, spy type gadgetry aplenty, watching a couple of blokes get minced (literally) and another two cut/torn in half, a plot that has takes leave of itself, an A-list cast and all the spit and polish that a US$100M+ budget affords, then this film is for you. But, this films lacks the originality and the creativity of the first instalment that made that offering so fresh and such a success, and at a running time of approaching two hours twenty minutes it is easily twenty minutes too long. Seeing Colin Firth again playing against type is a joy it must be said and he does so with a suave debonair grace that harks back to Sean Connery's Bond, and Mark Strong's Merlin adds a touch of grounded realism to the unfolding proceedings. As for Taron Egerton's Eggsy he's all over the place and it's hard to take him seriously, and the American Statesman crew are all relegated to bit parts that really serve little purpose other than offer friendly and formidable hands across the Atlantic in a time of crisis. An enjoyable spy genre romp that riffs of 'Bond', 'Bourne', 'Mission : Impossible' and all others that have gone before, but fails to reach the dizzy heights of its predecessor. Also starring Michael Gambon, Sophie Cookson and Elton John.

-Steve, at Odeon Online-

HAIL, CAESAR : Saturday 12th March 2016.

'HAIL, CAESAR' which I saw over the weekend is the latest offering and the 17th film from those very talented Coen Brothers - Joel and Ethan bringing us a nostalgic Hollywood comedy with an all star cast. Directed, Produced, Written and Edited by the Coen's with lensman Roger Deakins on camera duty the film premiered in LA on 1st February and went on general US release on 5th February, and, has so far made US$47M off its US$22M budget. The idea for the film has been kicking around since 2004 and was intended to be a 1920's set comedy film surrounding a play about Ancient Rome where the focus was on the lead character to be played by George Clooney completing a trilogy of films that sandwiched 'Intolerable Cruelty' between 'O Brother, Where Art Thou' and this latest production. Come 2008 and there was still no script although the notion of the film still existed as a glint in the Coen's eyes. Fast forward to late 2013 and a script was being worked up, and by May 2014 it was confirmed that this would be there next Production but the era and the plot had shifted to what we now have.

'Hail, Caesar' melds a fictional story with a real life character, that being Joseph Edgar Allen John 'Eddie' Mannix (played here by Josh Brolin) who died in 1963 having worked throughout the golden era of Hollywood's studio system as a film producer, studio executive and 'fixer' to the stars of the time. As the film opens it is the early 50's and there is a voiceover narrative provided by Michael Gambon that sees Capitol Pictures Head of Production and 'fixer' to the stars Eddie Mannix being introduced to us as he takes confession - it is 5:00am in the morning and his day is about to start - it is 24 hours since his last confession - Mannix is a serial confessor!

As the film progresses we are introduced to various characters over the course of a single day - all of whom are busy at Capitol Pictures churning out movies as Hollywood did in the 50's to detract from the angst of the time caused by the Cold War, the Red Scare, Commies under the bed and the advent of television. These were often of big song & dance numbers, westerns, sword & sandal Roman epics and films the audience could immerse themselves in and 'escape' the realities of life for a few hours.

Here we have hapless Hollywood heart-throb and #1 leading man Baird Whitlock (George Clooney, channelling Kirk Douglas, Clark Gable and Chuck Heston) shooting that epic Roman swords and sandals movie from which this film takes its title. During a scene he is drugged and eventually abducted by a group of screenwriters with Communist tendencies who demand a ransom of $100,000. He wakes up in a lavish beach house and is taken in by his 'kidnappers' with tea and cucumber sandwiches and told that they are all Hollywood Writers wanting a slice of the action for their creative writing skills that underpin the movie industry but for which they gain no reward or recognition . . . but really they have an agenda of propagating Communism and the Russian Dream. Hapless Whitlock fails to see this initially and goes along with their 'study-group' cover-up but within a few hours succumbs to their politiccal and economic ideals. By mid-day Mannix receives a ransom note from 'The Future' demanding payment in exchange for the safe return of Whitlock who is now AWOL whilst 'Hail, Caesar' needs to wrap with the pivotal concluding scene to be shot.

Meanwhile, talented and handsome dancer, Burt Gurney (Channing Tatum channelling Gene Kelly) is shooting a naval themed song & dance musical on another sound stage, as is a gorgeous swimmer, DeeAnna Moran (Scarlett Johansson channelling Esther Williams) on another, filming an aquatic musical featuring synchronised swimming and mermaids a la Busby Berkeley. She is upset and distressed since her second marriage ended in tatters (and subsequently 'fixed' by Mannix) and she is now pregnant to an unknown father and this pending news could be very bad for her career - a husband is needed quickly! Then there is  a singing cowboy, Hobie Doyle (Alden Ehrenreich channelling Kirby Grant), who as one film ends is told that his image is being changed and he is to report to the Studio for his next walk on part later that day on the serious 'Merrily We Dance' being shot by renowned British Director, Laurence Laurentz (Ralph Fiennes) who has concerns over Hobie's acting capabilities after the first few takes go awry, and complains to Mannix about safeguarding the artistic integrity of his picture.

Meanwhile, there is Tilda Swinton playing identical twin reporters Thora and Thessaly Thacker who both work for conflicting entertainment publications as gossip columnists who believe they have an inside scoop on Baird Whitlock's disappearance earlier in the day, and a scandal surrounding one of his earlier films 'On Wings with Eagles'. Mannix persuades the feuding sisters to hold their columns for 24 hours by which time he'll have retrieved Whitlock having paid the ransom out of 'petty cash', and will have defused the situation turning attention to something else.

Mannix pays the ransom money later that afternoon and then speaks with Hobie about his part in the Laurentz Production, and then orders him to accompany Carlotta Valdez (Veronica Osorio channelling Carmen Miranda) to the premier of his latest film. Afterwards over a drink, he notices the briefcase used by Mannix to stash the $100,000 cash in is being carried off by Burt Gurney and follows him to the beach house where Whitlock is being held. It turns out that Gurney is defecting to the Russian side and has rowed off shore with the other Writers to rendezvous with a Russian submarine. Hobie makes off with Whitlock while the others are distracted in their row boat, just as a convoy of police cars descend on the beach house.

With Whitlock returned to Capitol Pictures he is confronted by Mannix who orders him in no uncertain terms to stop messing with ridiculous Communist ideologies and concentrate of the concluding scenes of 'Hail, Caesar' with a career defining performance, otherwise the world may just learn of the part he played in his own abduction. As the film draws to a close we find Mannix back where it all started - 27 hours later in the confessional box seeking divine guidance about an offer too good to refuse to head up the 'Lockheed Corporation', but will he accept?

The film also stars Jonah Hill as Joseph Silverman - a surety agent working for the Studio, Frances McDormand as film Editor C.C.Calhoun, Clancy Brown as Whitlock's Co-Star in 'Hail, Caesar' and Christopher Lambert and Dolph Lundgren in bit-parts.

'Hail, Caesar' is a nostalgic look back at the Studio System of movie making during Hollywood's golden era, and in that respect the film hits all the notes and has a lot of fun in doing so. This doesn't of course mean there is any historical accuracy in the film, but it is loosely based on the drama, the spectacle, the scandal, the angst, and the personalities of that era. The film is fun, moves along at a good pace and has plenty of distractions to maintain the interest. Clooney delivering yet another numbskull turn for the Coens does so with aplomb, Brolin shows restraint and control over the roadblocks seemingly thrown in his way day by day as Mannix is reinvented for this film compared to how he may have been in real life, and Fiennes is first rate as the stiff-upper lipped English aristocratic Director Laurentz, with more than a hint of Laurence Olivier here.

For all of that, the film in this Reviewers humble opinion, is not up there with the Coen's finer, more memorable works. With four films in one all surrounded by a day in the life of a Studio linchpin there is maybe too much going on around the edges that is not necessary to the plot (two lavish productions numbers in particular for Moran & Gurney) - time perhaps better spent on other areas that would have created more depth & meaning to the central characters or given us a little more back story. It's enjoyable enough, has high production values, some strong performances, visually is engaging but lacks that final ingredient to elevate it to truly memorable. 'Hail, Coen's' - perhaps not so much this time!

-Steve, at Odeon Online-