On a budget of over $100 million, Kingsman: The Golden Circle grossed $410 million worldwide despite a mixed reception. Following its release, director Matthew Vaughn confirmed that a third entry would be in production soon. This next installment would end the planned trilogy, though Vaughn decided to make a prequel. Since this would be telling the story of how the Kingsman was founded, none of the original cast would return. In 2018, the studio announced that Ralph Fiennes and Harris Dickinson were cast as the leads. Other cast members reported included Daniel Brühl, Charles Dance, Rhys Ifans, Matthew Goode, Gemma Arterton, and Djimon Hounsou. Filming commenced in January 2019 with a planned November release, but unfortunately, the film’s release was delayed numerous times. After being delayed for roughly two years, The King’s Man finally hit theaters in December 2021.
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Synopsis
It’s 1902, and Orlando (Ralph Fiennes) is visiting a South African concentration camp with his wife Emily (Alexandra Maria Lara). They’re working with the Red Cross when Emily is shot and killed during a sniper attack at the camp. Years later, Orlando lives with his son Conrad (Harris Dickinson), who wants to fight in WWI despite his father’s objections. They visit War Secretary Herbert Kitchener (Charles Dance), who ensures to Orlando that Conrad will not be able to enlist. Meanwhile, a shadowy organization led by “Shepherd” plans to further tensions between the United Kingdom, Germany, and Russia. One of their agents is Grigori Rasputin (Rhys Ifans), a Russian monk who’s also a top advisor to the Tsar. He plans to convince the Tsar to pull out from the war, so Orlando and his spy network take action. Little do they know that there’s more at stake than they realize.
Review
One complaint I had with Kingsman: The Golden Circle was how chaotic and exhaustive the action sequences were. Even still, there was a sense of fun and energy to the film that made it exciting to watch. Unfortunately, The King’s Man lacks the spark that made the first two films so enjoyable in the first place. Before getting into the negatives, I will say that this has a decent cast with an exceptional lead. Ralph Fiennes does his best with the material given, and he’s easily the movie’s highlight. Rhys Ifans is having fun playing a larger-than-life villain, but unfortunately, he’s not in the film for long. Gemma Arterton and Djimon Honsou also make good additions, and Harris Dickinson does a decent job as Orlando’s son. And of course, there’s Charles Dance, who’s great in just about everything he’s in.
Sadly, not even this talented cast can save a mainly dull film aside from a few moments. The only memorable sequences here are the fight with Rasputin and the climactic gunfight towards the end. Aside from these, most of the runtime is nothing but dialogue-heavy scenes of boring exposition and tedious back-and-forths. Also, whereas the first two movies prided themselves on having colorful, larger-than-life villains, there’s nothing to this film’s lead villain. As eccentric as Rasputin is, he’s not the primary villain, and the reveal leaves you asking more questions. At well over two hours long, several points in this movie feel like padding to further stretch the runtime. It’s disappointing that Kingsman: The Secret Service was so good, but the sequels gradually fell in quality. Overall, The King’s Man is a far cry from its insanely fun and exciting predecessors.
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