The King's Man

The idea of Ralph Fiennes leading an action film sounds like something out of the mid to late 1990s but that was the case with The King's Man which released in 2021. The third in The Kingsman action film series, all directed by Matthew Vaughn, would be a prequel set in the early 1900s and see how the secret agency was established on the outset of World War 1. I would say I enjoyed the first film for the most-part but the goofy crassness of it all went overboard in the 2017 sequel, which made no secret of resurrection a dead character from the first and thereby undoing a lot of that film's dramatic moments. With all that, I had no interest in anymore of these but there must have been something to attract Fiennes so maybe The King's Man wouldn't be all bad.

Here the story follows Fiennes' aristocrat, Orlando Oxford, who works for the Red Cross and soon finds himself caught in the events that will lead to World War 1. His son is keen to fight so he organises a team, with the help of his son, to assassinate Grigori Rasputin who is part of a shadowy unit trying to propel Europe into war. This is where fact and fiction start to converge but I was surprised to find myself engrossed in it all.

Mixing alternative or reimagined takes on historical events is certainly nothing knew, just look at Tarantino, and Vaughn sets the stage well with a star-studded cast of talented faces. While there is also a lot of CGI, the film doesn't look too bad either and the action is exciting at times with Vaughn even showing some flair for the dramatic beats once more. However, there are still some quirks with his peculiar sense of humour which just doesn't gel here and cheapens the experience. 

The story is also hampered down by a weak antagonist and the 130 minute running time is a bit excessive for anyone wanting to watch this in a single seating. Thankfully, Fiennes remains fully committed to the film and just about keeps the story on course through to the conclusion. It's not perfect by any means and Vaughn's recent misfire with Argylle is one more reason why I don't really want the director involved with any James Bond films in the future; there is just something that makes his films feel light and forgettable. So you might enjoy The King's Man in parts but it is one that will quickly fade from memory and not one I feel any desire to rewatch.