After a rather long delay thanks to the Covid Pandemic, The King’s Man, the highly anticipated prequel to Matthew Vaughn’s hit Kingsman franchise, has finally been released in UK cinemas. The film was originally set to be released in cinemas across the UK and Ireland on 16th September 2020.
I popped along to Cineworld to make the most of my Cineworld Unlimited Card to check out the long-awaited sequel.
Following the huge success of Kingsman: The Secret Service and Kingsman: The Golden Circle, new cast members Ralph Fiennes, Gemma Arterton, Rhys Ifans, Matthew Goode, Tom Hollander, Harris Dickinson and Daniel Brühl, Djimon Hounsou, and Charles Dance join the Kingsman legacy.
In The King’s Man, a collection of history’s worst tyrants and criminal masterminds gather to plot a war to wipe out millions, one man must race against time to stop them. Discover the origins of the very first independent intelligence agency in The King’s Man.
I remember seeing the first movie in the cinema back in 2014 and it blew me away and even now after this latest release it is still my favourite of the three releases, that’s not to say that The King’s Man isn’t a bad movie, it’s worth checking out.
Having the third movie as a prequel not only allows it to take us back to see how the organisation started, but it also opens up the opportunity to bring us more movies that could run from this one and end up just before Kingsmen: The Secret Service, which I am hoping for, so fingers crossed.
There are some great moments that stick in your mind after seeing The King’s Man and I’m not just talking about the great performance from Ralph Fiennes which made me think of a mix of James Bond’s ‘M’ and The Grand Budapest Hotel’s ‘M. Gustave’, there are some great set pieces that work brilliantly.
There is a moment when we are in the trenches of World War I, not only is the part of the film shot very well, but it is a powerful piece that certainly put a lump in my throat as Conrad Oxford (Harris Dickinson) shows the courage that a true Kingsman should have.
The story runs along smoothly and as a prequel to the original movie it works well, Rhys Ifans was crazy as Grigori Rasputin and I mean that in a good way, he certainly steals the screen time as the ‘Mad Monk’ and a scene with him and Fiennes with a wound did have me cringing, but I think that’s the way it was meant to go.
When it comes to the action sequences the choreography works very well, as you can see from the trailer for The King’s Man that teases some of the many fight sequences that are in the film, there are also many sequences that look like they could have been shot for a 3D audience, such as swords being trusted towards the cinema audience.
The King’s Man is a good movie for a prequel, there are elements of the previous movies that make it a Kingsmen film, there are moments when I felt the film had really slowed down and come to a standstill, but these parts are made up for with the action sequences and a fantastic villain reveal/twist that has you waiting throughout the film.
Like many films these days, The King’s Man has a mid-credits scene that teases a sequel, so fingers crossed as that goes ahead as I’d be up for seeing that one.
Directed by Matthew Vaughn, screenplay by Matthew Vaughn & Karl Gajdusek, based on the Comic Book “The Secret Service” by Mark Millar and Dave Gibbons and produced by Matthew Vaughn, David Reid, Adam Bohling. The King’s Man is out now in cinemas and is worth checking out if you are a big fan of the franchise.
The King's Man takes us back to the start
Movie title: The King's Man
Movie description: In the early years of the 20th century, the Kingsman agency is formed to stand against a cabal plotting a war to wipe out millions.
Date published: December 30, 2021
Country: UIK
Duration: 2h 10min
Director(s): Matthew Vaughn
Actor(s): Ralph Fiennes, Gemma Arterton, Rhys Ifans
Genre: Action, Adventure, Comedy
Summary
A nice take on the history of the Kingsmen that gives an insight into how it all started.
Karen Woodham is the founder and owner of the Blazing Minds. She is also a Cinema reviewer and works with RealD 3D reviewing the latest 3D releases and IMAX, she has also had several articles published in various publications including the first edition of SFW Magazine. In 2015 she became an Award Winning Blogger and also has her website listed as one of the UK’s Top 10 Film Blogs.
