Kingsman: the Golden Circle

With Kingsman: the Secret Service (2015), director Matthew Vaughn (X-Men: First Class, Kick-Ass) reinvigorated an increasingly dour and introspective spy genre with an injection of irreverent, bawdy fun. This sequel sees former teenage tearaway Eggsy (Taron Egerton) now established as a top agent for Kingsman, the British network of smartly suited spies with gadgets to die for. But Eggsy's slick skills are put to the test when he uncovers the toxic plans of megalomaniac minx Poppy (played with gleeful relish by Julianne Moore), forcing a team-up with transatlantic counterparts, the Statesmen (Jeff Bridges, Halle Berry, Channing Tatum). The cracking action, if CGI-laden, comes thick and fast (car-chase carnage in the streets of London), but bigger and longer (it's well over two hours) is not always better - the Hollywood A-listers are barely used and some scenes border on the self-indulgent and crass. However, Pedro Pascal (lovingly channelling 70s-era Burt Reynolds) makes his mark as a lasso-wielding Statesman, the cast is evidently having a ball playing secret agents, and rock 'n' roll legend Elton John hoovers up the laughs by sending himself up something rotten.