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The King’s Man Movie Review

The King’s Man is a 2021 spy action comedy film directed by Matthew Vaughn and starring Ralph Fiennes. It is a very disappointing prequel.

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“Our enemies think we are gentlemen,

but reputation is what people think of you.

Character is what you are“

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One man must race against time to stop history’s worst tyrants and criminal masterminds as they get together to plot a war that could wipe out millions of people and destroy humanity. I really enjoyed the second Kingsman movie despite its flaws and of course the first one is terrific. But this third entry was so weak that I fear that this franchise has run its course.

Whereas the first two movies were surprisingly competent as these Bond-like spy flicks, this one discarded all of the gentlemanly charm to the proceedings, instead resorting to the standard action formula that did not appeal to me personally.

The storyline is as silly as you can get. Yes, it was fun seeing all of these great historical events and figures in an action blockbuster environment, but the troublesome tonal shifts made for an incoherent mess of a movie. At first, you would think that this is going to be a serious WWI spy thriller, but then in the second half the movie became a ridiculous action flick, leading to a very confused identity throughout.

The characters are largely forgettable with two exceptions. Ralph Fiennes is terrific. He was so confident in this proactive role and just a lot of fun to follow. I wish to see more of him in these roles in the future. Another standout is Rhys Ifans as Rasputin. This guy was just wildly entertaining and there is this terrific fight sequence that used Russian dance moves and he killed it.

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But the other action scenes in The King’s Man were tedious, overlong and typical. The movie’s technical aspects are fantastic with the production design and stunt work being the highlights, but the pacing is off, the movie felt simply too long and overly boring and the plot is a total joke. They should have continued with the sequels instead of making this prequel.

The King’s Man is a major disappointment coming off two very fun Kingsman movies. The Rasputin character was a lot of fun and Ralph Fiennes is outstanding in the main role. Some action scenes are also very well executed. But most are forgettable and the movie felt overlong and tedious. Gone are the elegant qualities of its predecessors and instead this entry resorted to standard action fare. They should have made another sequel instead of this unnecessary prequel.

My Rating – 2.5