Pretty obvious what went wrong here; the cartoonish quality of the first film is pushed to such extremes where it becomes really lame. Every action sequence in this is shot like the church scene of the first film, and the end result looks quite artificial and tacky (although they're still really well edited). The writing also got so much dumber; for example the scene that's meant to sell us on the evilness of Julianne Moore's character is ridiculous and stupid. Or take the return of Colin Firth, which is so underwhelming that it tanks the pacing whenever they cut back to his little subplot. The mechanics that are introduced here erase any stakes for the universe and it seems they generally didn't know what to do with the character. The risks it takes instead (the introduction of the statesmen; the 50s Americana aesthetic) are decently executed, but they're not enough to make for an entertaining movie. It's at its best when it's relying on the actors. Bridges, Tatum, Pascal and Moore are all delivering very fun, exaggerated performances, while Edgerton still knows how to portray the duality of Eggsy perfectly (though he's lacking the arc he had during the first movie). It's just a shame that they're not working with great, witty material. For instance, the running gag involving Elton John really overstays its welcome, which wasn't all that funny in the first place. The film isn't devoid of any laughs, but the jokes are often lacking in bite or edge. Moore's villain, despite her best efforts, isn't anywhere as memorable as Sam Jackson in the first film. Visually the movie is slightly above average; composition and lighting have always been among Matthew Vaughn's strengths, which makes it frustrating that the CGI sucks as much as it does. Sometimes it compensates for that with creative touches (lots of interesting scene transitions), but there are still so many bad looking effects shots. Ultimately a very disappointing sequel that lost sight of what made the franchise appealing.
Review by JordyVIP 8BlockedParent2024-01-30T23:56:53Z
Pretty obvious what went wrong here; the cartoonish quality of the first film is pushed to such extremes where it becomes really lame. Every action sequence in this is shot like the church scene of the first film, and the end result looks quite artificial and tacky (although they're still really well edited). The writing also got so much dumber; for example the scene that's meant to sell us on the evilness of Julianne Moore's character is ridiculous and stupid. Or take the return of Colin Firth, which is so underwhelming that it tanks the pacing whenever they cut back to his little subplot. The mechanics that are introduced here erase any stakes for the universe and it seems they generally didn't know what to do with the character. The risks it takes instead (the introduction of the statesmen; the 50s Americana aesthetic) are decently executed, but they're not enough to make for an entertaining movie. It's at its best when it's relying on the actors. Bridges, Tatum, Pascal and Moore are all delivering very fun, exaggerated performances, while Edgerton still knows how to portray the duality of Eggsy perfectly (though he's lacking the arc he had during the first movie). It's just a shame that they're not working with great, witty material. For instance, the running gag involving Elton John really overstays its welcome, which wasn't all that funny in the first place. The film isn't devoid of any laughs, but the jokes are often lacking in bite or edge. Moore's villain, despite her best efforts, isn't anywhere as memorable as Sam Jackson in the first film. Visually the movie is slightly above average; composition and lighting have always been among Matthew Vaughn's strengths, which makes it frustrating that the CGI sucks as much as it does. Sometimes it compensates for that with creative touches (lots of interesting scene transitions), but there are still so many bad looking effects shots. Ultimately a very disappointing sequel that lost sight of what made the franchise appealing.
4.5/10