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    By Caroline Alt Arts, ReviewsSeptember 28, 2017

    Even​ ​the​ ​Statesman​ ​can’t ​stop​ ​the​ ​sexism​ ​of​ ​“Kingsman:​ ​The​ ​Golden​ ​Circle”

    “The Golden Circle” took home $39 million in its first weekend Photo courtesy of 20th Century Fox

    This review contains spoilers for “Kingsman: The Golden Circle”

    This​ ​Friday,​ ​the​ ​long​-​awaited​ ​“Kingsman:​ ​The​ ​Secret​ ​Service”​ ​​​sequel,​ ​“Kingsman:​ ​The​ ​Golden Circle,”​ ​hit​ ​theaters. ​ Despite​ ​all​ ​of​ the ​criticism​ of ​the​ ​last​ ​installment,​ ​the​ ​franchise​ ​continues​ ​to​ ​follow a​ ​satirical​ ​yet​ equally ​misogynistic​ ​take​ ​on​ ​the​ ​James​ ​Bond​ ​series.​ ​However,​ ​even​ ​with​ ​its​ ​glaring​ ​problems, there​ ​is​ ​still​ ​something​ ​tantalizing​ ​about​ ​the​ ​21st​ ​century’s​ ​favorite​ ​British​ ​spies.

    The​ ​story​ ​picks​ ​up​ ​a​ ​few​ ​years​ ​after​ ​it ​last​ ​left​ ​off,​ ​with​ ​the​ ​newly​-​initiated​ ​Eggsy​ ​Unwin (Taron​ ​Egerton)​ risking​ ​his​ ​life​ daily​ ​to​ ​secretly​ ​save​ ​the​ ​world.​ As he is ​leaving​ ​work​ ​for​ ​the​ ​night​, ​he​ ​is held at gunpoint by​ ​his​ ​supposedly​ ​dead​ ​enemy,​ ​Charlie​ ​Hesketh​ ​(Edward​ ​Holcroft),​ ​a​ ​former​ ​Kingsman​ ​trainee.​ ​After​ ​a​ ​reaffirming,​ ​beautifully​-timed​ ​fight​ ​that​ ​made​ ​me​ ​remember​ ​why​ ​I​ ​watch​ ​action movies,​ ​it​ ​is​ ​revealed​ ​that​ ​Charlie​ ​is​ ​back​ ​to​ ​represent​ a ​mysterious​ underground organization known as the Golden​ ​Circle​ ​and​ ​that​ ​the Kingsmen​ ​are​ ​in​ ​danger.  After the demise of many Kingsman, Eggsy and company recruit​ ​the​ ​help​ ​of​ ​their,​ ​as​ ​Agent​ ​Tequila (Channing​ ​Tatum) puts it, ​“American​ ​cousins.”​ ​The​ ​Kingsman​ ​and​ ​“Statesman”​ ​(who include ​Jeff​ ​Bridges,​ ​Halle Berry​ ​and​ ​Pedro​ ​Pascal)​ ​must​ ​join​ ​together​ ​to​ ​take​ ​down​ ​the​ ​malicious​ ​drug​ lord,​ ​Poppy (Julianne​ ​Moore)​ ​before​ ​she​ ​wipes​ ​out​ ​all​ ​recreational​ ​drug​ ​users​ ​in​ ​an​ ​attempt​ ​to​ ​legalize​ ​these substances.​ ​With​ ​beautifully​-​choreographed​ ​gunfights,​ ​a​ supremely entertaining ​cameo​ ​by​ ​Sir​ ​Elton​ ​John​ ​that​ ​is​ ​paramount​ ​to​ ​the plot, ​and​ ​the​ ​return​ ​of​ ​the​ ​presumed​ ​dead​ ​Harry​ ​Hart​ ​(Colin​ ​Firth),​ ​“Kingsman”​ ​will stun​ ​viewers​ ​on​ ​the​ ​big screen. 

    While ​no​ ​franchise ​can​ ​pull​ ​off​ ​bright​ ​orange​ ​quite​ ​like​ ​the​ ​“Kingsman” ​can,​ ​this​ ​movie​ ​installment, ​in​ ​the​ ​realm​ ​of​ ​sequels,​ is ​really​ ​good.​ ​It​ was​ ​still able​ ​to​ ​capture​ ​the​ ​quick​ ​humor​ ​of​ ​the​ ​former​ ​as​ ​well​ ​as​ ​the​ ​unwavering​ ​hearts​ ​of​ ​the​ ​characters.​ ​The series​ ​continues​ ​to​ provide innovative and eye-catching action sequences​ ​using​ ​both​ ​slow​ ​motion​ ​and​ ​sped​-up​ ​shots​ ​that harmoniously​ ​flowed​ ​together​ ​into​ ​succinct​ ​action​-​packed​ bursts.​ ​

    The ​latest installment​ also ​featured​ ​one​ ​of​ ​the​ ​most​ ​likable​ ​casts​ of ​any​ ​2017​ ​movie.  Even​ ​the​ ​members​ ​spent ​the majority​ ​of​ ​their​ ​press​ ​appearances​ ​cooing​ ​over​ ​each​ ​other​ ​(see​ ​anyone​ ​talking​ ​about​ ​Pedro​ ​Pascal​ ​at​ ​the San​ ​Diego​ ​Comic​ ​Con).​ ​

    However, ​we​ ​should​ ​not​ ​gloss​ ​over​ ​the​ ​severe misogyny​ ​of​ ​the​ ​movie.​ ​It​ ​is​ ​hard​ ​to​ ​understand​ ​why​ ​a​ ​concept​ ​based​ ​on​ ​poking​ ​fun​ ​at​ ​the​ ​wildly sexist​ ​Bond​ ​films​ ​still​ ​falls​ ​into​ ​the​ ​same​ ​traps​. First of all,​ ​the​ ​only​ ​female​ ​member​ ​of​ ​the​ ​Kingsman,​ ​and​ ​arguably the​ ​most​ ​capable​ ​Roxy​ ​(Sophie​ ​Cookson) ​is​ ​murdered​ ​in the midst of helping​ ​Eggsy​ ​impress​ ​his girlfriend,​ ​Princess​ ​Tilde’s​ ​(Hanna​ ​Alstrom),​ ​royal​ ​family.​ ​Fans​ ​of​ ​the​ ​series​ ​will​ ​remember​ ​the​ ​original movie’s​ ​blatant​ ​disregard​ ​for​ ​both​ ​Roxy’s​ ​actions​ ​and​ ​her​ ​emotions​ ​by​ ​giving​ ​her ​little​ ​screentime and hastily-written relationships.​ ​This​ ​was​ ​proven​ ​to​ ​be​ ​all​ ​for​ ​naught​ ​in​ ​this​ ​installment.​ ​Although  Sophie​ ​Cookson​ ​picked​ ​up​ ​an​ ​Empire​ ​Award​ ​nomination​ ​for​ ​her​ ​role​ ​in​ ​the first​ ​movie, ​if​ ​Roxy​’s death was needed as ​a plot device,​ they should have at ​least​ ​let​ ​it​ ​be​ ​in​ ​a​ ​more​ ​respectable​ one.​ ​

    This​ ​horrible​ ​writing​ ​of​ ​female​ ​characters​ ​continues​ ​ ​throughout​ ​the​ ​movie​ ​with​ ​Princess Tilde,​ ​who​ ​serves​ ​only​ ​to​ ​hinder​ ​Eggsy​ ​in​ ​his​ ​attempts​ ​to​ ​stop​ ​Poppy, and later becomes  a convenient and literally paralyzed damsel in distress, to up the stakes for our hero.  Ultimately, she receives ​maybe 15 minutes​ ​on​ ​screen.​ ​The​ ​most​ ​sickening​ ​and​ ​uncomfortable​ ​moment​ ​in​ ​this​ ​movie​—and remember, this is a movie ​full​ ​of​ ​men literally​ ​getting​ ​ground​ ​up​ ​in​ ​meat​ ​grinders—is​ ​Eggsy’s​ ​“hook-up”​ ​with​ ​Ciara​ ​(Poppy​ ​Delevigne),​ ​Charlie’s girlfriend.​ ​In​ ​under​ ​10 ​minutes,​ ​she​ ​becomes​ ​the​ ​only​ ​character​ ​unclothed​ ​in​ ​the​ entire film, ​and​ ​seconds afterwards,​ ​viewers​ ​are​ ​greeted​ ​with​ ​a​ ​CGI​ ​rendering​ ​of​ ​her​ ​vagina​ ​as​ ​Eggsy​ ​attempts​ ​to​ ​bug​ ​her​ ​mucous membranes.​ The scene is ​overwhelmingly​ ​gross​ ​and​ ​violating​ ​and played for laughs to boot.​ ​​After​ ​this,​ ​Ciara receives only ​a​ ​few​ ​more​ ​lines​ ​before​ ​getting​ ​killed​ ​by​ ​Charlie​ in revenge for her cheating.

    Director​ ​Matt​ ​Vaughn​ ​and​ ​star Taron​ ​Egerton​ ​have​ ​repeatedly​ ​defended​ ​these scenes ​in the name of shock​ ​value.​ “It’s what Matthew [Vaughn] does, it’s his signature thing. He likes to do something that shocks. In Kick-Ass, it was Chloe Grace Moretz saying the C-word, in Kingsman 1 it was the bum shot of the Swedish princess, and in this one, it’s the thing. And, you know, it’s not to everyone’s tastes, but it certainly gets people talking. All it is is explicitly showing what Bond alludes to and says in a double entendre kind of way.” Egerton said.

    ​However, these scenes do not play out as ‘shocking’ so much as excessive and unnecessary.

    The​ ​misogyny​ ​in​ ​this​ ​franchise​ ​hardly​ ​even​ ​skims​ ​the​ ​surface​ ​of​ ​what​ ​is​ ​wrong​ ​in​ ​this​ ​series​, ​and​ ​many​ ​arguments​ ​could​ ​be​ ​made​ ​about​ ​how​ ​“Kingsman” portrays​ ​people​ ​with​ ​disabilities​ ​or​ ​people​ ​of​ ​color​ ​(spoiler:​ ​they’re​ ​literally​ ​all​ ​villains, with the new exception of Halle Berry).​ ​This​ ​ ​series is​ ​a​ ​constant​ ​pendulum​ ​swinging between entertainment ​and​ ​disgust​ ​that​ ​inexplicably​ ​continues​ ​to​ ​pull​ ​viewers​ ​in.​ ​While ​“Kingsman:​ ​the​ ​Golden​ ​Circle”​ ​is​ fantastic,​ it​ should be taken ​with​ ​a​ ​grain​ ​of​ ​salt;. No​ ​matter​ ​how​ ​breathtaking​ ​the​ ​cinematography​ ​may be, ​​movies​ ​should​ not​ ​be​ allowed ​to​ ​get​ ​away​ ​with​ ​the​ ​sexist​ ​stunts​ ​“Kingsman”​ ​continues​ ​to​ ​pull.

    with the new exception of Halle Berry.)​ ​This​ ​movie​ ​series is​ ​a​ ​constant​ ​pendulum​ ​swing between entertainment ​and​ ​disgust,​ ​that​ ​inexplicably​ ​continues​ ​to​ ​pull​ ​viewers​ ​in.​ ​That’s​ ​why I​ ​conclude​ ​with​ ​saying​ ​this:​ ​“Kingsman:​ ​the​ ​Golden​ ​Circle”​ ​is​ fantastic,​ ​but​ ​ should be taken ​with​ ​a​ ​grain​ ​of​ ​salt;​ ​no​ ​matter​ ​how​ ​breathtaking​ ​the​ ​cinematography​ ​may be, ​​movies​ ​as​ ​a​ ​whole should​ really ​not​ ​be​ allowed ​to​ ​get​ ​away​ ​with​ ​the​ ​sexist​ ​stunts​ ​“Kingsman”​ ​continues​ ​to​ ​pull.

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