The King's Man [Blu-ray]

Anyone who heard that Matthew Vaughn, creator of the lively, over-the-top spy romp “Kingsman: The Secret Service,” was planning a prequel might have expected something like the vintage TV series “The Wild, Wild West.” In other words, combine the same blend of irreverent action and comedy with vintage technology, and change the setting to World War I-era England. That prequel, somewhat obviously termed “The King’s Man,” delivers some of what fans of the original movie expect. But it also adds some heavy dramatic moments concerning war and peace. These are entirely at odds with a series that featured Samuel L. Jackson as a villain out to rule the world. Vaughn never quite sets the right tone with his prequel, which feels more like a missed opportunity.“The King’s Man” takes place mainly in the runup to and early days of World War I. Before the war, Orlando Oxford (Ralph Fiennes) establishes a fledgling intelligence agency to keep tabs on the other world powers. His stroke of genius is embedding sleeper agents as domestic servants on the theory that the world’s nobility overlooks the lower class. Oxford lost his wife during the Boer War, and he desperately wants to avoid future wars. Despite Oxford’s efforts, the Great War starts, thanks to the efforts of a SPECTRE-like secret cabal. Their members include Gavrilo Princip (assassin of Archduke Franz Ferdinand), Rasputin (Rhys Ifans), and Mata Hari. Oxford’s first significant mission in the war is to kill Rasputin. The resulting set-piece is quite drawn out (although consistent with the actual death of the Mad Monk). It’s also the most entertaining sequence in the movie, one of the few that captures the spirit of the original film.When writer/director Vaughn concentrates on the elements of “The King’s Man” that channel the spirit of the original film, the results are generally entertaining. The lead villain is a shadowy character called the Shepherd, whose face is never seen until the film’s final few minutes. (His identity, nevertheless, is relatively easy to guess.) The finale involves an assault by Oxford on the villains’ lair on a Himalayan mountain plateau hundreds of feet above the surrounding countryside. The stunt work and CGI effects are excellent, and the showdown fight between Oxford and the Shepherd is very exciting.Vaughn also incorporates many actual events in the screenplay, including the details of the Archduke’s assassination. Those unfamiliar with the history of that era may miss some of the in-references, such as the presence of real-life German provocateur Erik Jan Hanussen (Daniel Bruhl) as a cabal member. One good touch in the movie is having the same actor (Tom Hollander) play real-life cousins King George of England, Kaiser Wilhelm of Germany, and Tsar Nicholas of Russia. The three monarchs graduate from playing childhood pranks on each other to deadly one-upmanship for global power. When Vaughn reinvents history, he does so with a flourish. In the film, Mata Hari makes a sex tape with Woodrow Wilson (using the primitive camera equipment of the era). Oxford must recover that tape before the United States can enter the war.But “The King’s Man” isn’t all a wild romp. The film’s most significant subplot involves Oxford’s efforts to keep his teenage son Conrad (Harris Dickinson) out of the war to fulfill a promise he made to his late wife. Naturally, Conrad enlists anyway, leading to several harrowing, realistic scenes of trench warfare. Excellent movies have been made for decades about the horrors of modern-day warfare (like the recent “1917”). But none of those films included scenes involving a Woodrow Wilson sex tape. Director Vaughn never manages the transition between his more serious material and the wild action that’s the hallmark of the “Kingsman” movies. As a result, the dramatic scenes don’t get the attention they deserve, and the film’s overall tone suffers.I found the historical tie-ins of “The King’s Man” fascinating and the action and camp factor (especially in every scene involving Rasputin) entertaining. But the movie was too long with too much of a tonal disconnect from one scene to the next. The actual founding of the Kingsman agency, with its Arthurian code names, is relegated to a postwar cameo. In fact, the machinations of the surviving villains, setting the stage for the planned sequel, are far more interesting. Ralph Fiennes, who is almost 60, handles most of the action scenes well, although he no longer looks the traditional part of an action hero. I enjoyed “The King’s Man” but felt it was largely a missed opportunity. Not every war movie needs to be a profound commentary on the horrors of war, and “The King’s Man” is one of the least likely candidates. I’m recommending the film, but those expecting a World War I version of the other films in the series may be disappointed.

Not too many people saw this movie on release, myself only seeing it some days ago. Whether that be because the almost New Mutants level of release date push-backs, the "crowded" December movie block (I couldn't tell you another movie that released in December outside of Spider-Man No Way Home), or people simply forgot, The King's Man went largely unnoticed, even on the Youtube movie review spectrum.To keep this review as short and sweet as possible, from the handful of the reviews I've seen, and the discussions I've had with a few others who have watched The King's Man, I can say this movie is divisive. If you are a lover of Kingsman: The Secret Service and its sequel The Golden Circle, and think this movie is going to be the in the same vein, you may be disappointed. Not to say this movie doesn't have elements of those movies in it (looking at you Rasputin), but The King's Man is more akin to the likes of 1917 or other movies with a WW1 backdrop. It is also far more serious than The Secret Service or The Golden Circle, which always had an air of comedy about it.All of that said, I really enjoyed my time with this movie, and happily await the next entry in the franchise.

The origin story starts briefly with the Boer War and then jumps to the onset of WWI. It intersects with historical characters of Rasputin, Stalin, and Mata Hari. Orlando Oxford (Ralph Fiennes) starts the group based on the equality of men using a network of domestic help as spies.One of the issues I had was the vulgarity of the Rasputin episode which seemed so out of character with the original film. Certainly not family viewing. The integration of history into the story seemed awkward and certainly not Forrest Grump quality.Guide; F-word. No sex or nudity.

As other reviewers have said, this Kingsmen movie is more dramatic than the other two films. It grips with the horrors of war and the impact left on survivors. Alternate history buffs will find the interweaving of historical events entertaining and fans of the first films will appreciate the action scenes.While I enjoyed the first Kingsmen movies, I never felt compelled to see them again and again. I’ve wanted to watch this movie several times since seeing it in theaters a few weeks ago. This movie brings much needed gravitas and emotional depth to the entire series and is definitely my favorite of the series so far.

Boring, dull, depressing, and completely lacking the spirit of the original and it's mediocre sequel. At least the sequel was entertaining. This is not.

Was a great movie but I would love to see more Kingsman with Eggsy

This was my first time seeing it and Im going to say I loved the movie, It did have a few funny scenes but not to many one decapitated from one scene and at the end It very shock the nation because of the post-credit scene. And since I started the Kingsman series with during World War 1 and Ill continue on watching the rest of the two later on because it starts off from the first kingsman, the secret service and the golden circle. So probably watching it when I have a chance too