In September of this year, the continuation of the sensational film “Kingsman” - “Kingsman: The Golden Ring” was released on Russian screens. What are the reviews about the film “The Golden Ring”, what is the plot of the film, and who played the main roles in it?
Part One: Summary
The film “Kingsman: The Secret Service”, which appeared on the wide screen three years ago, tells the story of an ordinary guy from Britain named Eggsy. He does not have a father, but he has a stepfather who does not treat the guy himself, his little sister and mother very well. Eggsy’s life rolls downhill, he is a guy “from the street,” and God knows what would come out of him.
But everything changes dramatically when a young man meets an impeccable gentleman named Harry. It turns out that he is an old friend of Father Eggsy, to whom he owes his life saving at the cost of his own. Both Harry and Eggsy's father (while he was still alive, of course) are members of the secret service aimed at protecting peace and tranquility both in Britain and on the planet as a whole. Harry offers Eggsy to become a new member of the team - having successfully passed all the necessary tests, Eggsy takes his place. And here all adventures begin ...
History of creation
Both Kingsman films are a kind of spy action movie, but not entirely canonical. The director of paintings, Matthew Vaughn himself, noted at one time that he tried to combine in his tapes all of the films about gangsters, comedic and filmed based on comics. There is something about James Bond in Kingsman, but it cannot be said that Vaughn’s tapes copy an existing movie - they bring something new, their own, into the genre.
The performer of one of the main roles in both films, Theron Edgerton, noted that only someone who loves spy films so much as Matthew Vaughn will be able to remove the synthesis of a parody of them, saturated with black humor, and a beautiful action movie in the style of classic tapes. The director himself admitted that his cinema is a declaration of love to all espionage films, shot in a modern manner, but in the atmosphere of the seventies of the last century. And it all started this way ...
In 2010, the movie “Kick-Ass” was released, directed by Matthew Vaughn. It was shot based on the comics, and it was during the filming of this picture that Won decided to tell the story of the “elite scout” - and shared the idea with the author of the comic book “Kick-ass”, Mark Millar. He comprehensively supported the director’s decision, and a few years after that memorable conversation, the Secret Service comic was ready. Millar wanted to make the scene of the United States, but Won insisted on Britain. He didn’t shoot the film entirely on comics, he just took them as a basis, changing something significantly. So, for example, in the version of Millar, Harry and Eggsy are uncle and nephew, in the films the first is a friend of the second's father.
Initially, Matthew Vaughn did not know whether he would be filming the sequel to The Secret Service, but realizing that the film was warmly received, the film's leadership thought about the second tape. So there was “Kingsman 2: The Golden Ring”. By the way, now they are already talking about the possible shooting of the third film. Sources close to the film report that Matthew Vaughn sees the story of the British intelligence as precisely a trilogy.
Kingsman 2: The Golden Ring. Plot of the film
At the end of the first part, Harry dies - and the young Eggsy takes his place in Kingsman. Now he wears the call sign Harry and tries to do everything as his older friend would have liked. When an unknown villain destroys Kingsman’s headquarters, which kills almost everyone except Eggsy and Merlin, they consider it their duty to find out who did it and to properly deal with the offenders. In the course of their searches, they end up in America, where there is a similar intelligence service - with the name "Statesman". Intelligence of the two countries unites, and Eggsy and Merlin regain an old friend.
This is, in brief, the plot of the film The Golden Ring.
Filming
The “Golden Ring” was shot in the three summer months of last year, but the picture was released on September 21 this year - in Russia (in the world a day earlier). The shooting took place both in England (in Birmingham and London), and in Italy, Scotland and Wales.
During the filming, Matthew Vaughn did not spare his team at all - he wanted it to be as realistic as possible, respectively, forcing the actors themselves to perform as many tricks as possible, resorting to the services of stuntmen only in the most necessary situations.
Cast
The main characters “moved” to the 2017 film “Golden Ring” straight from the first tape. The young scout Eggsie was played by Theron Edgerton, his older friend and mentor, a refined gentleman - Colin Firth, their Kingsman colleague and computer genius Merlin - Mark Strong.
In addition, the actors of the Golden Ring were Julianne Moore (she had a negative role), Channing Tatum, Jeff Bridges, Pedro Pascal, Holly Berry and even
Sir Elton John!Theron Edgerton
Prior to filming the movie “Kingsman: The Secret Service,” British Theron Edgerton, who turns 28 in November, was not known to the general public. He played in the theater, starred in the television series, but he did not have large-scale roles in the movie - despite the fact that the acting career attracted the young man from childhood. Theron recalls that his family always supported his enthusiasm and rejoiced in success, but, as, however, he himself, seriously did not believe that he would succeed in achieving something big and worthwhile. Therefore, the proposal to play in a picture of a similar scale, and even with stars of this magnitude in the company, Theron and his family were enthusiastic.
The actor recalls that he did not know before the casting with whom he would be filming - only the name of the director. After reading the script sent to him, he already fell in love with this future film and the proposed role - and really wanted to get it. On tests, he was very worried, and when he heard the long-awaited in the receiver: “We take you on this role,” he was in seventh heaven.
According to Theron, one of the most difficult scenes in the films for him was shooting underwater (that in the first and in the second part of Kingsman, the hero of Edgerton, Eggsy, risks drowning, spending time under water for quite a while). Especially for these scenes, he had to train his lungs a lot and learn to suppress panic. The actor emphasizes in an interview that he played all the doubles himself, without the help of a stuntman. Now in Edgerton’s dreams is to work in a musical: he loves to sing.
Colin Firth
British actor Colin Firth does not need a special introduction - he has long been known to the vast majority of film enthusiasts. Firth was born in 1960, appeared on stage at 24 years old. However, real fame came to him only in the mid-nineties - it was then that he played in the film adaptation of the novel "Pride and Prejudice." Fert's real career began with this tape - invitations began to follow one after another.
Among Colin’s most famous works are Bridget Jones’s Diary (trilogy), Lonely Man, Real Love, The English Patient, My Terrible Nanny, Mom Mia, and so on. Six years ago, the actor won an Oscar, receiving an award for best actor in the film “The King Speaks!”
It was no coincidence that Firth got into the “Kingsman family” - for him the reputation of a true gentleman has long been firmly established: he usually plays such roles in films, such, according to the assurances of his acquaintances, he is in everyday life. Therefore, for even a second, Matthew Vaughn had no doubts that it was Firth who should play one of the main roles in his picture. According to the director, he was only afraid of how Colin would cope with the "combat" role - there were no such people in his career before. Firth worked one hundred percent, giving all his best and learning like no other.
The actor himself said that from the filming he received tremendous pleasure and invaluable experience. This role became an opportunity for him to fulfill his childhood dream - to be a superhero. According to Colin Firth, the most difficult scene was the battle scene in the first part of the film - he was forced to train for several hours a day, using at the same time such muscle groups and such parts of his own body that it never crossed his mind.
Reviews of the movie "Golden Ring"
It rarely happens that the continuation of the film is better than its first part. More often the opposite - people take the second tape worse. Judging by the reviews of the film "Golden Ring", this is exactly what happened with this picture. A lot of critical reviews with the words that the original was better, that nothing new, the Golden Ring does not demonstrate that this is only a duplication of what was already shown in the first part. They say that everything that is good in the new film is taken from the old film, that even despite a three-year break, the creators did not manage to come up with something new, that the picture does not have its own zest.
It’s clear from the press reviews of the Golden Ring film that in general they support just such a vision - journalists note that the film is good, the actors played well and it was shot beautifully, but nothing new can be found in it. The Golden Ring rating among viewers is 7.1, while the Secret Service rating is 7.6.
However, not everything is so sad. There are positive reviews about the film "Golden Ring", and there are also a lot of them! An exciting plot, great humor, an opportunity to reflect on, a harmonious story, a worthy continuation - these are just a few positive impressions from watching this tape by different people. Everyone who liked the second part of "Kingsman" agree that this movie is at a very high level.
Interesting Facts
- The battle scene in the church from the first part, in which the hero of Colin Firth supposedly dies, required six months to prepare, and it took eight days to shoot.
- Matthew Vaughn wants to film a spin-off for the film.
- Guy Ritchie and his films had a great influence on Matthew Vaughn.
- The 2017 Golden Ring film starred five Academy Award winners.
- Kingsman: The Golden Ring was the first sequel to Won's career.
How many people, so many opinions - these words are absolutely true and appropriate in many situations, including impressions of films. In any case, the picture “Kingsman 2: The Golden Ring” is worth a look, and how to relate to it - everyone decides for himself.