Rent The King's Man on Amazon Video (paid link)
Written by: Matthew Vaughn & Karl Gajdusek (screenplay by), Matthew Vaughn (story by), Mark Millar and
Dave Gibbons (based on the comic book "The Secret Service" by)
Directed by: Matthew Vaughn
Starring: Ralph Fiennes, Gemma Arterton, Rhys Ifans, Djimon Hounsou, Matthew Goode, Charles Dance, Daniel Brühl, Aaron Taylor-Johnson
Rated: R
Watch the trailer
Plot
In the early years of the 20th century, the Kingsman agency is formed to stand against a cabal plotting a war to wipe out millions.
Verdict
If you feel like burning and hour and a half, go for it. That or just skip to the last half hour. This story is part historical fiction, taking place before World War II, but the action and self aware plot that made the first two movies so much fun is absent. This does a lot of foundation building for a franchise that doesn't need it. It's just boring.
Skip it.
Review
This is a prequel to the first in the franchise, Kingsman: The Secret Service, a self-aware, over the top action movie. The follow-up, Kingsman: The Golden Circle, was still good but felt bloated and like it's point was to jump start a franchise. I suppose it was.
This movie sets a foundation for a franchise that doesn't need it. It's a strange plot for movies that seemed to know exactly what they were about. The first two were a send up of action spy movies, exploiting the common tropes.
This starts with a lot of runway, and that's before even getting into the plot. I like the historical fiction aspect as this provides and alternative to the causes of World War II. I thought Rasputin (Rhys Ifans) could make this fun, but the characters is underused. The movie is just boring. It's way too long before we get a fight, and this is in a franchise where the action is what I remember about the movies. This wants to take a new turn, and that's unfortunate. This abandons everything that made the first two movies fun. It takes away the toys and technology.
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| Stanley Tucci, Gemma Arterton, Ralph Fiennes, Djimon Hounsou, Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Tom Hollander |
With the setting, I'm surprised at just how boring this movie is. Why did we need an origin? Part of the problem is the plot splits between father and son, but the son doesn't have much of an arc. He's just a prop to motivate his father, Orlando Oxford (Ralph Fiennes) the founder of the Kingsman.
This should have been Oxford trying to stop a world war with early century spy craft. Instead I was left wondering the aim of this movie and why there isn't more action. The unseen villain certainly plays into the tone of the first movie, but no other aspects of this movie are that kind of fun or the fun of the first movies. Fiennes is a great choice, but the script offers no help. This could really play up the character as an English gentleman even during fights. That would offer great levity. Instead I had to set through three quarters of the movie before I saw a fun fight scene.
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