Some see politics lurking in the latest ‘Kingsman’
But is it about the president, or just a president?
Spoiler alert! Stop reading now if you don’t want to know key plot points in Kingsman: The Golden Circle.
With its stylized, campy spy world set around Colin Firth and Taron Egerton, Kingsman: The Golden Circle (in theaters now) isn’t the kind of movie that viewers would expect to make a political statement.
But Matthew Vaughn appears to signal less-than-subtle political messaging, frequently cutting to Fox News talking heads discussing a U.S. president (Bruce Greenwood) who ends up being corrupt, conniving and in serious legal trouble.
The British director says he’s frequently been asked about the political context.
“A lot of people watching are going, ‘Is that based on Trump?’ ” says Vaughn. “It’s one of those weird zeitgeist things.”
The sequel teams the U.K. spies of Kingsman with their American counterparts in Statesman to thwart villain Poppy (Julianne Moore), who threatens to kill the world’s drug users with poison she’s planted in the drug supply unless the president pays a ransom for the antidote. But the president has his own sinister intention: to let all drug users die in quarantine.
When his plan is foiled, he’s led off in handcuffs while Fox’s news scroll blasts “PRESIDENT IMPEACHED.” The White House chief of staff (Emily Watson), also named Fox, promises a smooth transition of power.
So why Fox News? Because the film’s distributor, 20th Century Fox, is owned by the same parent company.
“It’s just easier sometimes,” says Vaughn. “We save money, we don’t have to build the sets. It’s not a political statement, it’s about ease.”
Vaughn says any perceived par- allels between Trump, who has called the investigation into possible ties between Russia and his campaign a “witch hunt,” and the president seen in the movie are coincidence.
“The idea of Trump being president and England leaving the European Union sounded like a fairy tale, or a horror story, depending on how you look at it,” Vaughn says of the timing.
Vaughn declines to touch on his own personal views: “I want people to enjoy this movie and not get politically influenced.”
But it’s hard to ignore the movie’s political moments, says Mike Ryan, Uproxx senior entertainment writer.
“Kingsman definitely says something about American politics,” he says. “This screen president seems more conniving than Trump and has a better of grasp of what’s happening in the world. I think audiences are going to cheer when he’s led off in handcuffs, ( but) I don’t know if Kingsman is a must-see for many Trump supporters.”
The director says he likes the idea that the movie “will make people think and discuss.”
“It’s very important that people are more engaged in politics, debating rights and wrongs,” Vaughn adds.
“When two sides talk, good things happen.”