Kingsman: The Golden Circle unloads with a fast and furious start and winds down as we gleefully soak in the country roads come the end credits. Throughout The Golden Circle we are whiskeyd away on an adventure full of charm, emotion, thrill, and chills that'll satisfy anyone knowing what to expect. Matthew Vaughn directs his first ever sequel so you could imagine the hesitation for someone finally tackling the next chapter. Even though the film has been met with a divisive reaction from critics, audiences, and fans you could imagine my disappointment. It was always gonna be an improbable task to measure up to what's come before, but seeing my peers respond the way they did was the best thing that could've happened to my experience. As mentioned, we get a fast and furious like opening to The Golden Circle and from then on I didn't stop smiling. Eggsy, Merlin, Roxy, and some old familiar faces return and bring back everything you loved about the first one. It's as silly, as over the top, as action packed, and as hilarious as the first. What Vaughn has done tremendously well throughout his filmography is directing characters. Taron Edgerton as Eggsy is once again the standout here in another riveting performance. Despite the electric skipping rope, American flag parachutes, and batshit crazy diabolical plan, Vaughn finds a way to keep human emotion in charge of the narrative. This is funneled through our main hero Eggsy and other members of the cast. Everytime we venture into "one louder" territory we are reeled back in because of the personality of Eggsy. His selflessness, compassion, and love for human life makes him such a wonderful hero. And personally, one of the best main characters we have in blockbuster cinema. Character work aside, the action once again knocks my socks off. There isn't one particular scene as special as "The Church Scene" but there didn't need to be. All the action is competent, very well shot, miraculously choreographed, and a frenzied feast for your eyes. If you're tuning in for the action you won't be disappointed in the results. The reason why the action works as well as it does is because Vaughn has granted us the opportunity to fall in love with our heroes. Where The Golden Circle missed just a bit for me is in it's villain category. Julianne Moore comes in as Poppy, the crazy drug lord that is obsessed with the aesthetic of the 1950s. Following Samuel L. Jackson's turn as Valentine was a pretty tough task and Moore just fails to deliver. She has her own quirks that make her such a wacky psychopath, but she isn't compelling. This is in no fault to Moore who did a fine job, I just felt like she didn't really have an effect on the film. When thinking about Valentine I feel the impending doom because of his plan and his likability. I loved seeing Valentine on screen, I just didn't care for Poppy. The Golden Circle despite how well it abides by the rules and laws it sets and has set in it's universe goes a little too...overboard sometimes. All of these complaints regarding this are SPOILERS so I won't delve into them but Elton John was a HUGE negative takeaway. I was unsure what they were trying to accomplish with his character other than being comedic relief but he impacted every scene negatively everytime he was on screen. I feel bad because his music is so good and fits so well in this universe. In conclusion, I unapologetically really liked this movie. Eggsy is one of my favorite characters ever, the action never pulls any punches, the score by Henry Jackman caresses your ear drums, Matthew Vaughn understands how to level the playing field with characters that have emotions, and I can't wait to see where they bring the third film. I'm hoping they learn from some of their mistakes in the villain department because there was honestly a huge hole missing from that department. I'd still recommend ANYBODY to see this movie because it's a blast from start to finish. I may end up debating the positives and negatives with this movie in circles with those who were not impressed, but I still found it to be golden. Kingsman: The Golden Circle gets an 80/100