In the midst of the Spider-Man: No Way Home craze, The King’s Man came out around Christmas time and flopped hard at the box office. The prequel to the first two movies explores the beginning of the organization by focusing on Orlando Oxford’s quest to stop history’s worst tyrants and criminal masterminds from starting a war. Now, The King’s Man was also a critics flop as it received the lowest score out of the three films thus far on rotten tomatoes, a weak 42% on the review website. It’s certainly not on the levels of The Room or Showgirls, but it’s definitely not a good score. So, is The King’s Man a bad movie? Well…no. It’s actually a pretty good film, though keep in mind, movies are subjective, and everyone has different opinions about what they perceive as good or bad. Be warned, if you’re curious to see the film then it’s best not to read on as this is spoiler heavy.
I understand the criticism that the film has received. Tonally, the film is a bit over the place. In the beginning, it matches the fun energy of the previous Kingsman movies but as the film moves along, the tone notably gets dark and melodramatic. However, The King’s Man never wallows in its depressing and sad narrative. Following, the surprising death of Orlando’s son, Conrad, the quippy one-liners come and go, especially during the climax of the film, but it pales in comparison of the previous two entries. What made Kingsman stand out from being a James Bond knockoff is the satirical humor and fun characters. In retrospect, the direction of The King’s Man isn’t too shocking. Conrad’s death was indeed surprising as the film actually takes some time to spend with the young man once he enlists in the war. Once the young man gets through the bullets and explosions on the battlefield in a heroic fashion, you kind of expect him to save the day and get that message over to the Scottish army. He doesn’t, but what follows is expected. I never brought into the idea of Orlando dying. He’s witnessed his wife shot dead, and then his one-and-only son, so his journey was definitely ending in a victory.
Still, that doesn’t make it bad. The King’s Man won’t go down as the most original entry of the series, but it’s still a fun exercise with the highlight being the incredible action. The most inventive and fun action sequence was Rhys Ifans’s Grigori Rasputin vs. Conrad, Orlando, and Shola. The dance/fight interpretation was a great mix that provided the known humor and quirky characters that Kingsman have had in the past, plus, it’s just a darn good fight. It’s a shame that Rasputin isn’t the main villain as he’s definitely the most interesting antagonist in the film, whereas Erik Jan Hanussen doesn’t have the unique quirk that makes him standout in this franchise. Going back to the action, everything’s filmed nicely; The visuals are gorgeous, and the movement is fast paced and easy to follow. Everyone looks great here, though it would’ve been nice to see Gemma Arterton’s Polly character in action. She’s a welcome addition to the franchise, but she’s nowhere near the action unfortunately. I understand that she isn’t exactly the warrior that Orlando or Shola is but given the fact that she ends up being one of the founding members of the Kingsman, it would’ve been nice to check out what makes her unique.
Djimon Hounsou is great for the role that he’s given but his character truly lacks depth. It’s interesting that a Black male and a woman are central figures at this time, but it never comes into play during the story. Giving Arterton and Hounsou something a bit meatier would’ve helped them become stronger, three-dimensional characters as the foundation of who they are is promising. Ralph Fiennes is tremendous in a role that seems tailor-made for the veteran. Despite the tonal shifts, the film never feels off because Fiennes is able to roll with the punches and handle whatever comes his way. It does help that his character is well-developed. You understand the pain, anguish, and guilt that he suffers throughout his journey, yet Orlando can be charming and funny as well. Harris Dickinson gives a fine performance as well. It’s questionable that Vaughn opted to spend so much time with this side character. It does slow down the overall film a bit, but his arc is packed with suspense and Dickinson carries himself well throughout the feature. Is this the best Kingsman movie of the three? No, but it’s not as bad as the critics proclaim it to be. Hopefully another film is made in the Kingsman world, though that’s doubtful given the box office performance.Kingsman
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