Director Matthew Vaughan took the comic book THE SECRET SERVICE and along with screenwriter Jane Goldman the pair brought about a movie called THE KINGSMAN: THE SECRET SERVICE. The film was so popular a sequel followed, THE KINGSMAN: THE GOLDEN CIRCLE. Now he returns to tell us how the group began with the prequel THE KING’S MAN.
The film opens in 1902 as diplomat Orlando Oxford (Ralph Fiennes), his wife Emily (Alexandra Maria Lara) and their young son Conrad during the Boer War in Africa are sent to visit a concentration camp. They are attacked and Emily is killed but not before she makes Orlando vow that he will never allow their son to participate in a war.
Fast forward to 1914 and Orlando and his servants Shola (Djimon Hounsou) and Polly (Gemma Arterton) work behind the scenes to insure that a new war doesn’t break out. At the same time they attempt to keep young Conrad from joining the military, much to his displeasure. Lord Kitchener (Charles Dance), the British Secretary of War, sends Orlando and his group to Sarajevo to keep an eye on Archduke Ferdinand. They prevent one attempt on his life but not the second. This sets in motion what will become WWI.
Orlando has a chance to question the assassin and discovers this is not a small group attacking the Duke. Instead there is an organization known as “The Flock” led by a man known only as “The Shepherd”. The group is composed of agents from various countries, the most well-known being Rasputin from Russia. This is an organization doing all they can to start the war.
Kitchener heads for Russia to convince the Tsar Nicolas to become an ally with Great Britain but on the way his ship is sunk by members of The Flock. When word reaches Orlando he and his family head to Russia to take on the task Kitchener began. Their encounter with Rasputin (Rhys Ifans) is not a pleasant one and leads to an exhaustive fight.
Returning home with the war breaking out, Conrad reaches his 19th birthday and joins the military. As this is transpiring US President Woodrow Wilson has opted to not become involved in the war. Information is transferred to him claiming that Mexico would side with Germany if he enters. Wilson claims that without proof he will not enter the fray.
Orlando, Polly and Shola work towards getting Wilson the proof that he needs. In doing so they suffer a tremendous tragedy that takes them out of the game. When he learns that Wilson is being blackmailed to keep him out and knowing that without his help his country will fall, he once more jumps into action.
As exciting as this sounds, and trust me there is plenty of action involved here, the film feels like it runs a bit slow at times. This is due to an overabundance of story, something that rarely happens in movies these days. But all of the story needs to be told to bring all of the various pieces together, to bring all of the various countries into play in this tale.
There are no bad performances in this film. The two that stand out the most are Fiennes as a more senior combatant behind the scenes and Ifans as Rasputin. Ifans chews up the scenery and handles some impressive work hiding behind makeup that makes him look like the mad monk. If you never considered him a bad guy you will after seeing this movie.
At just over 2 hours the movie feels a bit long and could
have been trimmed a bit. Still, it was an enjoyable romp and one is left hoping
there are more tales of the Kingsmen out there to be told. I for one have
enjoyed the previous two films and this one is just as entertaining.
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