Kingsman: The Golden Circle 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray Review
Kristy Sturdivant
December 23rd, 2017
Everyone appreciates a mindless action movie, but one of the things that people appreciated about the original Kingsman film was how different it felt. In a time where adaptations are very cookie cutter and pedestrian, KINGSMAN: THE SECRET SERVICE was a breath of fresh air. Unfortunately, the sequel feels more like everything else we see and the result is a very forgettable film.
The headquarters of the classy and well dressed Kingsman has been destroyed and another worldwide terrorist is wreaking havoc on society. Our gentlemen heroes must work with their U.S. cousins, The Statesmen, to save the world from crazed red-head Poppy Adams (Julianne Moore) and The Golden Circle, who is about to take out most of the world’s population with a deadly virus.
When KINGSMAN: THE SECRET SERVICE came out in 2014, it was a surprise hit that introduced audiences to this charming secret organization that had top-notch spies with great manners. As they recruited and trained Eggsy (Taron Egerton) and then had him take down a super villain played by Samuel L. Jackson, we all knew it was only a matter of time before they came out with a sequel that would give us more insight into this new world of spies. Sadly, Hollywood might have waited a little too long and misled audiences in their advertising. As in, if you are wanting to watch Channing Tatum be a super cowboy spy, you’re going to be severely disappointed.
There are many problems with KINGSMAN: THE GOLDEN CIRCLE, starting with the runtime. The films runs for about 20-30 minutes too long which makes all the other irritations exacerbated. Then there’s the cast; you have a top-notch cast of Academy Award winners and nominees who are so under-utilized that it’s practically criminal. The exception being Pedro Pascal (Prince Oberin from Game of Thrones) he was amazing and definitely needs more roles. But even if they had been used, the rough dialogue and played out plot wouldn’t have helped matters. Good guys trying to stop bad guys from taking out humanity with a deadly virus? That’s getting old. Finally, there’s the visual effects, which are average at best and some of the stunts are so over the top that it borders on ridiculous. Everyone enjoys a suspension from disbelief, but no one for a second thinks that Colin Firth would be able to do a Matrix-type dodge after being out of the field for a year at his age. That’s not fun film, that’s just a little insulting to your audience. And the entire opening action sequence made Taron Egerton look like a CGI Gumby.
KINGSMAN: THE GOLDEN CIRCLE is one of those films that is fun to watch at the time, but you probably won’t be pondering all the potential plot holes four hours later. It’s mindless action and unintelligent dialogue which everyone enjoys from time to time, I just wish they would have kept the run time to under two hours because no one needs to see Elton John beat down like that so often.
4K ULTRA HD BLU-RAY REVIEW
Video: This is a pretty standard 4K upconvert from a 2K master. Nothing will blow you away, but if you’re looking for upgrades over the Blu-ray, you’ll notice them through increased detail in closeups and background settings. I did notice that the bright white snow during the mountain chase felt brighter and more detailed than the Blu-ray, thanks in large part to some added detail from the HDR. But overall, this is what we’ve come to expect from upconverts.
Audio: The Dolby Atmos track is very impressive. Although I wasn’t a huge fan of the film, it sounds amazing.
This title was reviewed using a Samsung UBD-K8500 with a Sony XBR75X850C TV.
There are no special features exclusive to the 4K, but it does include a Blu-ray of the film, which includes the following special features:
Kingsman: Inside the Golden Circle: Nine different featurettes cover, in exhausting detail, every aspect of making the film.
Black Cab Chaos: Anatomy of a Killer Chase: The opening action sequence gets its own featurette.
Galleries
Trailer
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