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Kingsman: The Golden Circle
Movie

Kingsman: The Golden Circle

2017 • Unknown

Woke Score
4.2
out of 10

Plot

When an attack on the Kingsman headquarters takes place and a new villain rises, Eggsy and Merlin are forced to work together with the American agency known as the Statesman to save the world.

Overall Series Review

Kingsman: The Golden Circle is an over-the-top spy action-comedy that continues the franchise's penchant for extreme violence and crude humor. The film introduces the American counterpart, Statesman, creating a culture clash that drives much of the political satire. The narrative presents a clear moral conflict where a white male US President is the primary human antagonist, making the villainy explicitly governmental and political rather than purely megalomaniacal. It is heavily criticized for its gender dynamics, notably eliminating a highly competent female character early and featuring a shocking scene of sexual violation played for a joke, which runs contrary to modern progressive expectations of female empowerment. While featuring a diverse cast of American agents, the core story remains centered on the two principal male heroes saving the world from a powerful, ambitious female villain and a corrupt Western leader. The film's political critique focuses on the state's cruelty in the 'War on Drugs,' but there is no push for sexual or gender ideology, and the film concludes with a traditional pairing.

Categorical Breakdown

Identity Politics6/10

The plot's central conflict vilifies a white male in the highest office of a Western nation, the President of the United States, who is portrayed as morally bankrupt and willing to let millions die. The story is a direct critique of systemic state cruelty inherent in the War on Drugs policy, painting the government as a cold-blooded oppressor against its own people, which aligns with a critique of systemic oppression. The introduction of the diverse Statesman agency to save the day provides a contrasting, morally superior group.

Oikophobia8/10

A major Western power, the United States, has its highest elected official depicted as an outright monster who is willing to murder his own citizens for political gain, directly demonizing a key civilizational figure. This critique is presented as razor-sharp satire of a national institution and policy. The entire British Kingsman institution is violently wiped out at the start of the film, necessitating the main British heroes to rely on their American counterparts, suggesting a deconstruction of their national heritage.

Feminism3/10

The movie is criticized for its highly objectifying and misogynistic elements, which stand in opposition to the 'Girl Boss' trope. A highly competent female character is killed off early to motivate the male hero, reducing her role to a trope. The most egregious scene involves the hero having to implant a tracking device inside a woman for a mission, which is played for crude humor. The male protagonists are presented as competent and protective. The overall message is one of traditional masculine-feminine dynamics, despite the villain being a woman and one of the new female characters eventually taking a leadership role.

LGBTQ+2/10

The core relationships follow a normative, traditional structure, concluding with the hero marrying his princess girlfriend. The primary LGBTQ+ presence is a popular celebrity who is a prisoner of the villain and provides comedic relief. This presence does not center sexual identity as a theme, deconstruct the nuclear family, or lecture on gender ideology, keeping the score low on the 'Queer Theory Lens.'

Anti-Theism2/10

The movie's villainy is purely secular, driven by profit and political calculation by a drug kingpin and a corrupt politician. The morality driving the heroes is based on their secret service code and personal commitment to saving the world. There is no direct hostility toward or critique of traditional religion, specifically Christianity, and the narrative acknowledges an objective moral good (saving the world's population) that the heroes fight for.