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Reel Reviews: Ninjas and secret agents

We say, “ The Lego Ninjago Movie is boring, Kingsman: The Golden Circle is action packed.”
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Taron Egerton is back as Eggsy in Kingsman: The Golden Circle. (Marv Films photo)

Messieurs Howe senior and Howe junior attended The Lego Ninjago Movie — a film about Ninjago City, which falls into the hands of evil Warlord Garmadon (Justin Theroux). It is up to Lloyd (Dave Franco) a.k.a. Green Ninja and his gang to take it back. Along the way, Lloyd will find out that there are deep family secrets and hidden treasures that he never imagined.

Taylor reviews Kingsman: The Golden Circle, a sequel to 2014’s Kingsman: The Secret Service. Our young, brash secret agent Eggsy (Taron Egerton) needs the help of their American counterparts the Statesman, (Channing Tatum, Jeff Bridges) to track down a Queenpin terrorist (Julianne Moore) who holds millions of drug users hostage with her synthesized virus.

We say, “The Lego Ninjago Movie is boring, Kingsman: The Golden Circle is action packed.”

TAYLOR: I enjoyed the first Kingsman film and this new sequel didn’t disappoint. If anything, The Golden Circle turns up the volume on all the things that made The Secret Service so much fun. I also mean that literally, this is a very loud film. The audience is flung into a chase scene as the opener and with the pace set, the action unfolds in regular instalments. I get tired of films that feature fight scene after fight scene, but the action and cinematography in these films make them fun. Being silly comic book spy fare with robot attack dogs and adult innuendo doesn’t hurt either.

HOWE: This week I am joined by my very own master Lego builder, Fenin. What did you think of this latest Lego instalment?

FENIN: Well, it wasn’t bad. It had some really cool moments but I was pretty bored most of the time. The best bit for me was with the cat, that was the funniest moment.

HOWE: The Lego Ninjago Movie was very dull and predictable. It was as if they took the script from The Lego Movie or the Batman Lego Movie and just relabelled it Ninjago. It is nearly identical. The laughs are drying up, the actors are getting less funny and only seem to be there for the payday. I could have easily have walked out half way through and wish I had — it was that painful.

FENIN: Oh come on dad, it wasn’t that bad.

TAYLOR: Elton John (the real Rocketman) is in Kingsman 2 as himself, which is very funny. I don’t think I’ll spoil anything by letting you know that he gets to fight as well. It could be argued that seeing Elton in this role is worth the price of admission alone, but perhaps I was just in the mood for some ridiculousness.

Howe gives The Lego Ninjago Movie 1.5 six piece grey building block out of 5.

Fenin gives it 2.5 cats out of 5.

Taylor gives Kingsman: The Golden Circle 3.5 Bondesque gadgets out of 5.