Directed by:
Matthew VaughnCinematography:
Ben DavisCast:
Ralph Fiennes, Gemma Arterton, Matthew Goode, Harris Dickinson, Djimon Hounsou, Tom Hollander, Rhys Ifans, Daniel Brühl, Charles Dance, Aaron Taylor-Johnson (more)VOD (3)
Plots(1)
Set during WWI, The King's Man tells the exhilarating origin story of Kingsman, the world’s very first independent intelligence agency. As a collection of history’s worst tyrants and criminal masterminds gathers to plot a war to wipe out millions across the globe, one man must race against time to stop them. (Disney / Buena Vista)
Videos (6)
Reviews (13)
The somewhat misleading trailers, Matthew Vaughn's reputation, and especially what he did in the first two films, set the stage for another frantic action flick, just set a hundred years earlier. But there was a surprise in the cinema – a very pleasant one for me. Apparently, Vaughn decided that the story of the birth of the Kingsman Agency would be just as much the birth of his unmistakable directorial style, and that's a million dollar idea. This makes The King's Man a surprisingly subdued film for a good while, one that cares about the characters, and when it comes to action, it's good but deliberately keeps a low profile. Vaughn seems to be discovering that frantic style himself with each passing scene, while the heroes unravel a giant conspiracy in a story full of twists and turns (including a truly shocking one) and gather typical Kingsman attributes to become the King's Men in the final three-quarters of an hour. Vaughn got unleashed, started slowing down shots, put the camera on wings and swords, fiddled with shots (my favourite is the duel of silhouettes against the backdrop of the movie screen with the turmoil of war) and simply kept giving the audience what they were waiting for. For some the wait will be long, but others will be royally entertained.
()
The King's Man is nothing more than a series of random scenes in a very vague parallel to historical events. Some scenes give the viewer enough visual enticements and WTF moments. Plus, I would rather not think about how pointless the storyline is and how it does not really make any sense. Plus, the big revelation of the bad guy, delivered as a huge twist (which the viewer had already figured out after five minutes of watching this movie), could not possibly have been something Matthew Vaughn was serious about.
()
If you don't want to proceed sequentially, a prequel (almost) always seems like a fresh idea, and the third Kingsman bets on that. Setting the story in the First World War was good option, given the nature of the film, and Matthew Vaughn took it on with vigour. The King’s Man is definitely not for fans of accurate history – which I am thankfully not. It features a number of historical figures, but they take on a whole new dimension (I could go on at length about Rasputin) and Vaughn mostly manages to make humorous use of even their unconventional concepts. The identity of the main villain is clear almost from the start, but this is offset by the rather unexpected death of one of the main characters. The film does have a few spots that push the envelope too much, but I still had fun in the cinema and watched the beginnings of the modern-day "Knights of the Round Table" with excitement. PS: Some of Ralph Fiennes screams reminded me of Voldemort destroying the defensive shield of Hogwarts.
()
Somehow it just isn’t what it used to be. Setting it in the World War I gave it a more earthy feel, but Vaughn just isn’t trying as hard anymore. While the first part was overflowing with visual finesse and sly jabs, this movie is mostly serious. But the story has a couple of interesting twists and hats off to the respect for historical events, but if it weren’t for Rasputin, there would be nothing to praise. And of course we know how the Great War ended up and it’s unreasonable to expect the opposite from Tarantino here.
()
If all those amazing visual ideas, the surprisingly resolved situations and the sweetly over-the-top humour were wrapped in something called a meaningful plot and not a twisted alternate reality pulled out of someone’s ass like from the pen of a drunken Vondruška, I'd be happy. Give Vaughn the next Bond movie, really, the guy's got it.
()
Ads