Kingsman: The Golden Circle was expected to hold up to the high expectations of its predecessor. The first film, “Kingsman: The Secret Service,” provided the action genre with new and fresh form and a way to combine all of the things viewers love about spy movies without taking itself too seriously.

    By using a younger, more relatable protagonist, Director Mathew Vaugh created a universe which viewers invested in and even related to. Because of this, a sequel was a given. However, The Golden Circle focuses on quantity rather than quality and perhaps some of its lowest moments deserved to get the boot.

    The film opens with the beloved protagonist Eggsy (Taron Egerton) continuing to dutifully assume his role as Agent Galahad which was granted to him after the death of his mentor, played by Colin Firth.

    Eggsy appears to have grown in his role and even has a steady relationship with the princess he became, let’s say acquainted with, at the end of the first movie. For the duration of the opening scenes the audience is following Eggsy’s life in what seems to be a normal, happy and friend filled routine.

    The action begins one night when after leaving the tailor shop, Eggsy is met by one of his former Kingsman recruits. This encounter leads to one of the most enthralling scenes and recalls the fast-paced charm of the Kingsman brand. Sadly, this harrowing beginning does not serve as an indicator for the two hours following.

    In an attempt to regain the Kingsman glory, Vaugh simply packs too much too poorly into an already lengthy piece. Although the film did add big names in Channing Tatum, Halle Berry and even multiple cameos from Elton John, the story, action and the humor seemed to be grasping at straws.

    Amid several heavily saturated action sequences, the characters of the Golden Circle gave up their joviality in pursuit of a plot which was begging to crumble at every turn. The first Kingsman production was ready and willing to poke fun at itself while the newest addition was convinced that behavior was off the table.

    Speaking of the story, while its forerunner balanced sophistication with middle-school bathroom humor, The Golden Circle tried to force feed viewers ample amounts of dirty humor while heaving a complicated and loosely woven plot line into the mix.

    By nature, humor can be variably offensive but a bit of controversy never hurts. However, the blatantly inappropriate lines that served as “jokes” in this film left views feeling nothing less than scummy.

    In short, this most recent Kingsman film was set up to be a smashing success by its beloved predecessor. Nevertheless, instead of remembering its heritage of playful sophistication, the newest installment bowed to shameless low-brow humor. A movie combining action, romance and comedy can sound like a recipe for success, but perhaps next time someone should inform Vaughn of more workable proportions.