The Kingsman are back to save the world, drink numerous bottles of hard liquor, and continue the sexist, hetero-male fantasy that doing the right thing means a woman owes you sex, but I digress.

The world is threatened by another eccentric billionaire, but this time the secret service organization known as the Kingsman has been destroyed.

The only hope is for the remaining agents, Eggsy (Taron Egerton) and Merlin (Mark Strong), to team up with the their American cousins; The Statesmen.

Compared to the first installment I would have to say “The Golden Cir- cle” had much of what made the first work.

The action is fast paced, fun, and over the top, which is exactly what I and the many fans wanted.

However, there’s nothing new happening in the set pieces and are as fun as they are forgettable.

There is no epic church scene that blows you away, and the main henchman offers nothing in the way of a formidable opponent for our lead.

The movie also boasts an all-star cast of A-listers. Newcomers include Channing Tatum, Jeff Bridges, Halle Berry, and Julianne Moore who are (except for Moore) serviceable in their roles.

It also has a forced and drawn out cameo by a famous musician whose presence does nothing but add to this over-the-top mess of a story.

Taron Egerton slips right back into the super spy shoes of Eggsy, but in sequel he has a noticeably lessened amount of humor and wit. Unfortunately, the lack of humor isn’t resigned to the lead.

Colin Firth also returns as Kingsman agent Harry. Harry serves two purposes: as an obstacle for Eggsy and to show up for the final fight.

His presence not only takes away the emotional impact of the first installment, but also allows the film to fall into the spy movie trope it tried so hard to stay away from.

Julianne Moore is the big baddie and plays the sadistic drug lord, Miss Poppey.

Moore’s portrayal came across more like a hyperbolic cliché of the old-school Bond villains she was trying to satirize.

At the very least, it has a guy with a lasso that lights up. Haven’t seen that one before.