The King’s Man
The King’s Man
The King’s Man is a prequel to the Kingsman movie series that we quite enjoyed. With entertaining and stylized action scenes and an interesting World War 1 setting we thought this movie was a good time.
Austin : 8.9/10
Non-Spoiler:
The King’s Man is a movie set before the first two Kingsman movies, both which received quite a bit of praise. I have seen neither, and I will say that hampered my viewing experience a little bit. I felt as if I was missing certain pieces to the puzzle early in the movie, although that quickly disappeared as the main story took over. I thought the plot was really well done, and our characters were awesome.
I really enjoyed the history of this movie. Using real figures such as Rasputin and drawing on other historical events to power the plot was awesome. That era is super cool to me, so anytime it can be worked into a movie, I get excited. While it was pretty confusing to begin with, once I got a hold of what was happening it was a really exciting story with more of a mystery theme than I had envisioned. The scenes of war and death were both really cool and really intense depending on the scene. I loved that I was never really sure what was coming next. Maybe it was confusing, maybe it was good writing, but I enjoyed it nonetheless.
Our characters are the coup de grace. Orlando Oxford is a complicated human being with a bundle of baggage. As the movie goes on, we are continually learning what has turned him into the war despising, pacifist. He is brilliant, and Ralph Fiennes plays the character wonderfully. Rasputin was both menacing and hilarious. He embodies the two drastically different themes, but he does it in a way that makes your skin crawl. It feels weird, awkward, even wrong, watching this bizarre man do the things he does, but it fits the history books quite well. Conrad provides wonderful character balance for the movie, embodying the man his father was. His need to go to war for his country demonstrates his need for higher duty. He is equally bright and witty like his father, but lacks the self-control to make these attributes work well. Our side characters were decent, but our main characters shone.
Wonderful film. It’s entertaining, violent, and surprising. My only word of advice would be to watch the other movies first, that might eliminate some of the confusion. If that doesn’t do it, this might be a worse movie than I’m selling, but I will let you make that decision.
Spoiler:
Conrad. That’s the whole section. Cannot believe they killed him off in such a sudden way. Very well done from a written perspective but especially the filmography that came with it. The ending fight in the makeshift barn, building things was really cool and the goat coming back with vengeance was hilarious. Really enjoyed the way this ended and can’t wait for whatever they do next.
Nathanyal : 9.3/10
Non-Spoiler:
When I first started watching this movie, I wasn’t sure how to feel about it. The beginning of the movie started off with a bang, literally. But then after that, I felt the pace slow down. But, that feeling didn’t last for too long. Soon, the movie picks up with so many twists and turns. Everything about this movie was very entertaining. Besides the pacing, which does pick up, I loved the plot. Mixing a mystery with historical fiction is wonderful. I’ve always loved studying the World Wars, so seeing representation of those historical figures in the context of this movie was great. I also enjoyed the small nods to other events that happened as well.
Besides the story, the characters were solid as well. I enjoyed all of them, and they all were fun to watch. Each character filled their roles nicely and I didn’t have any complaints there. I also loved the villains as well. I loved seeing the meeting between some of the prominent people and it was entertaining seeing them play off each other.
Overall, The King’s Man was a fun movie to watch. If you love history and a good mystery, then this one’s for you.
Spoiler:
Now that you’re here, I think the main thing that really got me into the movie was Conrad’s death. Now, I can’t completely say I wasn’t expecting his death, but it took me by surprise for sure. I loved the way the director made it seem like Conrad made it home free. But then when the music stopped and the bullet was fired, I felt a punch to the gut. Took me by surprise and I loved that. Besides that, all the fight choreography was great. I loved watching Rasputin fight the most. Seeing him dance around with his weapon flailing was hilarious and it fit his character nicely.
As I said earlier, if you enjoy history and mystery, then this movie is for you.
Sebastian : 8.9/10
Non-Spoiler:
I had a pretty good idea of what this film was going to be when I started it. Having seen the first Kingsman film and wanting to see the second I assumed this film would be a spy thriller just set in the past. I was right for the most part, this is, in fact, a spy thriller but where I was wrong was that this film really is rooted in the history and the history of the first world war while taking liberties of course. I thought this was a fun and engaging spy film that I am glad I watched. The backdrop of World War 1 and the lead-up to said war proved to be a good time to set this film and it was fun when I recognized historical figures like Rasputin, Franz Ferdinand, Czar Nicholas, etc. The acting in this movie was great all around but an especially good performance from Ralph Fiennes who plays Orlando Oxford our protagonist who is a pacifist who gets dragged into the fight by trying to protect his son while saving lives. The story itself could be quite difficult to follow at times with multiple time jumps as well as some surprises that were unexpected as well but it is all well explained enough to avoid. The supporting cast did a good job especially Djimon Hounsou as Shola who provided comedy and action as well as Gemma Arterton as Polly who was the moral center for Orlando as well as a badass herself. The action like the other Kingsman films was highly stylized and creative using different weaponry and fighting styles while also being quite bloody and gory. I really liked the ending and how it sets up the Kingsman universe and I quite hope we get to see more entries in this franchise.
Spoiler:
As I am sure my colleagues will discuss as well, the big spoiler in this film is the death of Conrad. You think he isn’t in danger for two reasons, firstly he is our other main character, and secondly, he had just survived No Man’s land. His death happens so fast as well being shot in the face before he has time to explain himself. It was quite unexpected and it has a good story purpose as motivation for Orlando to take action.
There is also a post-credit scene that sets up a potential sequel of the Kingsman trying to take down a young Hitler which would be entertaining.
All in all, this was an entertaining spy thriller with an interesting World War 1 backdrop that adds bigger stakes to this film. I would recommend this film to someone who has seen Kingsman or to someone who hasn’t.
