The King's Man is a prequel to The Kingsmen franchise, but it abandons most everything that has made its predecessors so entertaining. Led by a stellar cast that includes Ralph Fiennes, Djimon Hounsou, and Gemma Arterton, this movie drifts between drama, comedy, and action without ever figuring out the tone that the film would like to present.
The King's Man follows self-proclaimed pacifist Orlando Oxford (Fiennes) while he tries to raise his son Conrad (Harris Dickinson) as a single father after the untimely death of his wife. Conrad is very adamant about joining the British army; this is to his father's dismay even after Orlando has plead his case about how fighting for his country has led him to pacifism. Orlando then shows that he and two of his house workers, Polly (Arterton) and Shola (Hounsou), have created a secret network to help dissuade Russia, Germany, and Britain from going to war following the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand. But behind the scenes, a secret organization that includes holy man Grigori Rasputin (Rhys Infans), appears to also be pulling the strings and attempting at to lead these three nations into a war and destruction.
There are elements of this movie that can certainly be lauded. Ralph Fiennes feels right as home in his role as Orlando Oxford. He is the epitome of class and almost seems to be typecast in such roles, examples being The Grand Budapest Hotel and Hail Cesar!, but he gives a very solid performance as he is given the chance to show a full range of emotions. Rhys Ifans as Rasputin is almost unrecognizable, and despite his heavy involvement in many of the film's six released trailers, he has a minor role, which is a shame because he elicits many of the laughs in the theater. Gemma Aterton and Djimon Hounsou are also exceptional but seem to be given the back seat in favor of the plot involving Orlando and his son Conrad.
The issues for this movie were fairly glaring. Watching a movie from Matthew Vaughn, one has come to expect some quick quips, some rather zany villains, and fantastic action sequences. The King's Man feels like a big departure from these elements. Removing some of these things are understandable to a degree. With the movie being a period piece, it is limited in some regards to what music, cars, and technology can be used, but there must be a way to use the elements of the time effectively to capture what has made The Kingsmen franchise so accessible, enjoyable, and entertaining in the first place and it falls flat in that regard. Another thing that jars the experience is that at points it seems like the inclusion of historical figures is contrived, causing the story to become muddled. This film includes a mid-credit scene which contains the most dastardly and vile historical figure of them all and it is like the movie is begging viewers to want there be a sequel instead of getting the audience excited for a potential extension to the franchise.
The release of The King's Man was pushed back several times. It was originally slated to premiere in 2019 only to wait two years for a theatrical release. Unfortunately, moviegoers ended up waiting for a movie that was not up to snuff. Coming off two movies from the franchise that are very fun and hit most of their emotional notes, this movie is drab and can't figure out what it wants to do.