What to Watch This Weekend: The King’s Man

The King’s Man is the story of Orlando, Duke of Oxford (Ralph Fiennes) and his spy activities circa World War I. Serving as a prequel to both Kingsman: The Secret Service and Kingsman: The Golden Circle, this story touches on the foundation of the agency and their first big mission. With rise of suspicious activity, Orlando investigates an attempt to keep several countries embroiled in global conflict under the manipulation of a secret organization. Having learned of the treacherous conspiracy, he then assembles an elite team of mercenaries to infiltrate various government inner circles to expose the truth. Juggling this, Orlando also attempts to keep his pugnacious son Conrad (Harris Dickinson) under watchful protection being an advocate for peace over violence.

What works in The King’s Man is the embrace of insanity coupled with marvelous fight choreography. Director Matthew Vaughn (Kick-Ass, X-Men: First Class) gets his ensemble to lean in heavily with over-the-top performances that are engaging spectacles above all else. The “most bonkers” award goes to Rhys Ifans’ (The Amazing Spider-Man) Rasputin. This version of the historical self-proclaimed Russian holy man is a bombastic assassin who uses both sexuality and dance as part of his combat style. When he’s not attempting to murder, Rasputin believes in the power of literally licking wounds to heal them—this should give one a sense of how absurd this character is.

RELATED: The King’s Man 4K DVD Review

Vaughn still excels at executing an action sequence. Within The King’s Man, audiences can expect several exotic locales for ensuing mayhem including a banquet hall, a snowy cliff face, and the front lines of No Man’s Land. Vaughn uses his surroundings and pairs them with unusual makeshift weaponry to create thrilling moments deserving of attention.

There are several elements about The King’s Man audiences should be wary of, as they may detract from enjoyment. To start, the film is very disturbing and gory at moments. Some people may recoil at the bloody nature of some of the encounters. Next (as previously covered), the nature of the plot could easily produce eye-rolls aplenty. Finally, The King’s Man meanders. The narrative has a strong desire to give off an epic vibe, but there are simply too many confusing plot lines and characters to keep track of. There’s a desire here to explore the lore that spawned the previous films, but the movie struggles to stay relevant.

The King’s Man is big swing for action-adventure revisionist history films. There’s plenty to applaud, especially in terms of scale and grandeur. That said, some find the whole affair to be a bit too much in terms of bloat and ridiculousness.

Recommended if you Enjoyed: Kingman: The Golden Circle, Wanted, Kick-Ass 2

Night Terror Banner   GenreVerse FOR FANBOYS, BY FANBOYS Have you checked out LRM Online’s official podcasts and videos on The Genreverse Podcast Network? Available on YouTube and all your favorite podcast apps, This multimedia empire includes The Daily CoGBreaking Geek Radio: The Podcast, GeekScholars Movie News, Anime-Versal Review Podcast, and our Star Wars dedicated podcast The Cantina. Check it out by listening on all your favorite podcast apps, or watching on YouTube! Subscribe on: Apple PodcastsSpotify |  SoundCloud | Stitcher | Google Play
Share the Post: