20 Dec The King’s Man Review

THE KING’S MAN

dir. Matthew Vaughn, starring Ralph Fiennes, Harris Dickinson, Djimon Hounsou, Gemma Arterton, et al

The King’s Man, an alternate timeline film and the third movie in the franchise, diverts from the contemporary setting of the initial two outings and instead delivers us a decades-removed prequel that establishes the origins of the organization. Set just before and during the events of World War I, a collection of history’s worst tyrants and criminal masterminds gather to plot a war to wipe out millions. In direct opposition, serving King and country is Orlando Oxford and his son Conrad. While they work against this cabal of villains, Orlando and Conrad also fight amongst each other as Conrad is set to enlist to do his part for duty, against Orlando’s wishes. The two of them, along with a few trusty allies, take on the organization responsible for starting the war.

Externally, the issues with The King’s Man lies in is narrative structure and storytelling; an overly convoluted story is further muddied by exposition dumps. Internally, the movie’s major weakness lies in its antagonists. Fans of superhero comics will understand that the hero is only as strong as the villain that hero faces; a great villain can go a long way to propping up and putting over the hero. In The King’s Man, our antagonist, who’s face is shadowed and obscured in different ways throughout the film for what amounts to a lackluster reveal, is completely ineffective. We see him and the members of his evil team make their plans, while most of them end up being fairly easily dispatched of by our heroes. Outside of Rhys Ifans as Rasputin, none of these characters have any development deeper than the shallowest of kiddie pools. Rasputin is one of the highlights of the movie, a genuinely entertaining performance from Ifans, and given what we get from him, and what we get from the rest of the movie, it’s easy to see why the trailers focused on his character as much as they did.

Starring Ralph Fiennes as Orlando Oxford, the initiator of the organization the audience grew to knew over the past two films, The King’s Man is centered completely on him. Rarely is Orlando not on screen; when the story cuts away from him or his son, the camera doesn’t stray long before returning to him. Fiennes delivers a serviceable job in the movie, decades of playing stoic men shows the veteran actor is comfortable in these sorts of roles. Accompanying Fiennes in the film is Harris Dickinson’s Conrad Oxford, Orlando’s son, eager to jump into the war to prove his worth and be a valuable contributor to the efforts of keeping Britain safe. Dickinson is fine in the role, neither terrible nor exemplary until midway through the second act when he’s finally given some decent material to work with. Gemma Arterton and Djimon Hounsou round out our principal cast, with each supplying their own brand of charm and quippy, rascally entertainment.

Directed by Matthew Vaughn, the King’s Man is the latest entry in the cinematic world he helped bring to life in 2015. On top of directing duties, Vaughn also created the story and helped write the screenplay with co-writer Karl Gajdusek. As always, the direction and cinematography aren’t the issue (cameraman Ben Davis, responsible for the cinematography on five MCU movies, can do no wrong); Vaughn’s keen eye for directing action and finding ways to keep it fresh and entertaining are some of his greatest strengths. The issue lies mainly in the pacing and editing of the film. At 131 minutes, The King’s Man could’ve done with a heavier hand in the editing stages and pared down to a more manageable, snappy runtime. The first two acts are the leading perpetrators; setting up the machinations of our faceless antagonist and the impetus for Fiennes’ Orlando to finally spur to action take far too long to execute. Once the ball is rolling, however, the film turns from exposition slog to rollicking fun action.

Overall, The King’s Man is a poorly paced action movie that, while containing some charms, does relatively little to add layers to the Kingsman franchise. Far better than Kingsman: The Golden Circle, but still light years away from the original Kingsman: The Secret Service, The King’s Man gets points for attempting something new, even when it doesn’t fully succeed. Mostly saved by Vaughn’s flair for artistic style, the movie is a passable counterprogram to those not interested in the Matrix reboot, arriving in theaters on the same day. For those who might be interested in both, the flashy set pieces bogged down by stilted pacing and murky storytelling should make The King’s Man the first of your double feature; you have to eat your vegetables before you can have dessert. The King’s Man is in theaters on December 22nd.

Review by Darryl Mansel