Geek Review: The King’s Man

Who says history has to be boring? After winning the hearts of fans with its first movie Kingsman: The Secret Service and later on the sequel Kingsman: The Golden Circle, fans are now served with a prequel movie, set with an entirely new cast and characters. These changes may ring some alarms – if it’s not broke, why fix it? – but just like the previous two Kingsman movies, the third installment to the franchise, The King’s Man, is just as fun, stylish and dangerous as its predecessors. 

If you’re here to catch the bespectacled Eggsy in action once again, you won’t. Instead, this prequel follows Ralph Fiennes as the Duke of Oxford in a period spy film alongside Harry Dickinson as his son Conrad, Gemma Arterton as housekeeper Polly and Djimon Honsou as head of housekeeping Shola, as they try to put an end to a World War. 

Yes, the first World War. 

We’re all familiar with World War I and how Germany, the United Kingdom and Russia began shooting at each other after the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand in Hungary-Austria. The King’s Man starts off just the same, but implies that there are more forces influencing these world leaders behind the scene. 

Is it real? Who cares? Despite being a period film that delves into real world history, The King’s Man still takes the same approach as its predecessors – an action-packed film filled with humour that is spectacularly and uniquely British. Tonally, The King’s Man does not deviate too far from what fans are already familiar with, though there are some noticeable differences. 

Seeing how The King’s Man is a period film, you won’t be seeing high-tech, fancy weapons here. Instead of the Kingsman Briefcase, Fountain Pen and the Kingsman Umbrella, our heroes in this prequel movie mainly fight with swords, guns, grenades and their own pair of hands. To make up for the lack of cool gadgets, the hand-to-hand combat and action in The King’s Man are sharply choreographed.

Fights appear like dances and are entertaining to watch. The best action scene is the fight/dance between Shola and Rasputin (Rhys Ifans), where the two actors dance on tables before attempting to slice one another up. Certain liberties are taken of course, but this is Hollywood, and director Matthew Vaughn is never one to allow a simple hiccup like historical accuracy rain on his parade.

Speaking of how things used to be, there are a few items used in fights that serve little nods to the later films, even if some are somewhat anachronistic. References like the signet rings and a walking stick as a substitute for the Kingsman Umbrella are frequent throughout the movie, so even though the movie takes on a different form in action, you’re still reminded that all that is happening still exists in the same world. 

A common practice in the Kingsman films is the use of code names. There’s Arthur, Merlin, and so on and so forth. This is a practice completely ignored in The King’s Man. Here, characters are called by their names – Conrad, Polly, Shola to name a few. Not having code names may cause a few fans to give out a large gasp, but the movie makes up for it by explaining and giving the origin story behind these codenames and how they came about. After all, The King’s Man is a prequel film. 

Despite being a prequel film, The King’s Man still holds strong on its own. One doesn’t have to be familiar with the earlier two films to appreciate the movie. Die-hard fans would definitely be able to catch on to the minor references and connections between all three films here and there, but it won’t leave you confused or feel like you’re missing out on important information if this is your introduction to the franchise. In fact, if The King’s Man is your introduction to the franchise, you’d likely be intrigued to watch the modern-world installments once you leave the theatres. 

Introducing a brand new cast in the third installment – even as a prequel – may seem like a risky move, but with talents like Ralph Fiennes (famously known as Lord Voldermort from Harry Potter), British sweetheart Gemma Arterton, Marvel’s Daniel Bruhl as well as Rhys Ifans from Harry Potter and Marvel films, viewers are in good hands. 

Fiennes plays the Duke of Oxford, a respected soldier and trusted friend of the King with a strong dislike for wars. Having killed plenty during his time in the army, the Duke spends most of his life keeping his son Conrad away from violence. Despite his best attempts to keep Conrad safe, the teen still decides to sign on for the army and serve in the World War. The father-son relationship is a huge focus in the movie, and Fiennes’ stern and strict father performance cum deathly spy when need be is impressive to see, especially at his age. 

Arterton’s Polly is the only central female character in the movie. Although there aren’t plenty of scenes of her on-screen, her moments are undeniably memorable. She’s the brains and the driving force behind many of the missions, so without her, there’s no saving, no clues, no moves. 

Still, Ifans’ performance as Rasputin still takes the cake. From the accent, his built and slimy yet suspicious disposition, Ifans’ Rasputin is the most entertaining villain from the entire franchise. He may not be the main villain in The King’s Man but his performance is enough to have you thinking of him more than the big bad. 

In all, The King’s Man is an enjoyable watch that mixes two beloved genres – spy and period – and turns it into a light action and comedy. Its play on history will tickle the minds of history nerds and the style of action that borderlines dance will have you wanting to come back for more. It’s a great installment to the Kingsman franchise that has the potential to be expanded should director Vaughn deem fit, and is a great introduction to the franchise if viewers have never heard of the Kingsman franchise.