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.
I am a huge fan of Matthew Vaughn’s 2014 spy caper, “Kingsman: The Secret Service,” and while its sequel, 2017’s “Kingsman: The Golden Circle” didn’t quite live up to its predecessor in terms of visual style, humor, and character exposition, it was a worthy follow-up. While a second sequel to the first two iterations is already in production, director Matthew Vaughn felt the needless desire to shoot a prequel so he could show everyone how the Kingsman secret spy organization came to be. It is totally unnecessary and I don’t remember the fans clamoring for it either. Prequels, for the most part, are irrelevant additions to any franchise and personally, show a lack of originality on behalf of the filmmakers.
Don’t know how to continue your film series? I know, let’s go back to the beginning and show the world how it all began. I don’t need to see an origin story on how Freddy Krueger or Michael Myers or Leatherface became the unstoppable killing machines they are, I don’t want to know what makes them tick, sometimes, not knowing adds to the overall mystery of a character or story and with “The King’s Man,” the same rule applies. After the success of the first two movies, I never had the desire to see how the Kingsman Agency originated, I would much rather the original films continue with their narratives, adding new characters and villains along the way, much like the James Bond series. And speaking of Bond, I have no desire to see how MI6 was established either, just let Bond do his thing and allow us to tag along.
“The King’s Man” takes place during the early 1900s and centers on Orlando Oxford (Ralph Fiennes), the Duke of Oxford whose wife is killed in a military ambush while visiting a British outpost in South Africa. Before she dies, he promises her that he will always protect their young son Conrad (Harris Dickinson) and never allow him to fight in any war but years later, when Conrad is old enough to enlist in the British Army, Orlando’s hands are tied. When Orlando’s friend, Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria (Ron Cook), is assassinated, thrusting Europe into conflict, a mysterious character who operates from a remote mountaintop lair emerges and while his identity remains a mystery, he appears to be pulling the strings behind the scenes as the war in Europe rages on.
With Conrad on the verge of fighting in the war, Orlando asks him to accompany him to Europe instead, at least that way he can oversee his every move while he meets with the enigmatic Grigori Rasputin (Rhys Ifans), who is allegedly conspiring with the clandestine figure who Orlando believes is calling the shots but when things don’t go according to plan, Orlando and Conrad must up their game and call on the assistance of Polly Wilkins (Gemma Arterton) and Shola (Djimon Hounsou), close friends who have worked with Orlando for years and who can help them infiltrate the impenetrable mountaintop hideaway, finally revealing the identity of the reticent manipulator.
Director Matthew Vaughn foregoes his customary frenetic and dizzying camerawork, used to such great effect in the first movie, specifically that ridiculously excessive church scene, and gives “The King’s Man” a more grounded and realistic aesthetic. But for a movie that is part and parcel of a film series that relinquishes all manner of realism, it feels sorely out of place. The first half of the film indicates it is heading in one direction but around the halfway mark, the narrative changes and the story advances in a completely different trajectory. It almost feels like both halves were directed by two entirely different people who had no idea what the other was doing.
A fight scene involving Orlando, Conrad, and Rasputin was the highlight of the film but at times, given the more restrained approach, even that scene felt forced and artificial. “The King’s Man” has the appearance of various contrasting visual styles, something most movies avoid, and the plot, while taking on an interesting perspective of World War I, appears to follow suit, exuding divergent storylines that culminate in redundant convolution instead of a satisfactory conclusion. Here’s hoping that Vaughn is done with any more prequels, and gets back to delivering the zany, outrageous, and preposterous action and humor we have come to expect from this series.
In Theaters Wednesday, December 22nd
