This review contains spoilers to “Kingsman: The Golden Circle.”

The “Kingsman” series has returned with an action-packed film.

This particular version — “The Golden Circle,” centers on Poppy (Julianne Moore), a rogue American drug kingpin and her dealings with the independent British intelligence agency, Kingsman. The familiar agency returns and continues to front as a tailor shop in London. Their enemy? Poppy, who has monopolized the world’s drug supply.

The action begins immediately with a fight between the protagonist Eggsy (Taron Egerton) and Charlie — a rejected Kingsman trainee — inside a black cab. After the altercation, Eggsy rushes home so that he can make his dinner date with his girlfriend and her parents. These people just so happen to be the royal family of Sweden.

During the date, Poppy uses missiles to destroy all known Kingsman facilities. The protagonist’s dog and his friend Brandon are casualties of this operation. Eggsy and an analyst with an unlisted residence (Merlin) are the only survivors.

The main plotline begins in earnest when Eggsy and Merlin visit Statesman (Kingsman’s American equivalent) in Louisville, Kentucky. Statesman fronts as an alcohol distillery. The two agencies team up to battle Poppy.

Film Analysis

“The Golden Circle” (directed by Matthew Vaughn) runs for 141 minutes. It’s packed with action and is visually stimulating. The battle with Poppy takes the agents to snowy mountains and a remote jungle. I came away thoroughly entertained.

There is also plenty of awesome technology, including hologram versions of off-site agents and rabid mechanical dogs.

Vaughn also managed to attract big name actors. Halle Berry and Channing Tatum played Statesman agents while Elton John provided comedic relief as Poppy’s celebrity obsession.

However, that’s pretty much where the positive attributes end. Eggsy and John are the only characters I found likable. The former seemed like an honorable person. In addition, he had a few good one-liners.

The rest of the cast was either unlikable or they had limited character development. I won’t give away any spoilers, but Eggsy’s girlfriend, Princess Tilde (Hanna Alstrom) liked the idea of dating Eggsy, but didn’t support him when necessary. On the other hand, Poppy ate employees who didn’t follow orders. That smattering of cannibalism made me uncomfortable.

Berry and Tatum did not play complex characters. As with any film, there were some plot holes.

In conclusion, this is a film I would watch again for the action sequences alone. However, character development was lacking.

Rating: 3.5/5 stars