The King's Man has the Matthew Vaughn action with a thoughtful, dramatic script! The Kingsman series started with Kingsman: The Secret Service (2014), based on The Secret Service (2012) comic book limited series by Mark Millar and Dave Gibbons. It was followed by Kingsman: The Golden Circle, (2017), by director and co-writer, Matthew Vaughn. The King’s Man is the prequel directed by Vaughn with a screenplay by Vaughn and Karl Gajdusek, who co-wrote the action thriller, The November Man (2014). The movie opens on a rocky plain, “South Africa, 1902”, a horse caravan is taking a road, the driver (Djimon Honsou) points out something to a man he calls, “Your Grace” (Ralph Fiennes). Honsou was in the horror sequel, A Quiet Place Part II (2020). Fiennes was M in the James Bond film, No Time to Die (2021). The film on December 22nd last year and is currently streaming on Hulu.
The duke walks out and takes out binoculars to look across the plain. He sees a camp where soldiers are dropping bodies. The caravan has pulled up next to the camp. He walks up to the guards and asks for General Kitchener. An officer allows him in and takes to the general. He sees the emanciated bodies of the Boer in the concentration camps that the officer says is needed for the war. General Kitchener (Charles Dance) greets Oxford who says that Emily and Conrad are outside. Dance played Lord Mountbatten in The Crown series. They are in one of the carriages, young Conrad (Alexander Shaw) wonders why they have traveled there, Emily (Alexandra Maria Lara) reminds him of the Round Tale, that all men are equal. She leaves him to check on her husband.
Conrad talks to Shola wanting to be Lancelot and Shola could be Merlin. Emily argues about supplies from the Red Cross, their organzation is needed, the general orders the gates to be opened. A gunshot and Oxford falls. Shola sets Conrad down and heads out. A sniper is shooting people in the camp. He targets Kitchener, but Emily running towards Conrad, gets in the way! Shola brings his sword down on the sniper. Emily holds her torso and then falls. Oxford runs toward his wife. She gasps vowing him to protect their son and “Never let him see war again.” Conrad runs to his mother and his father holds him. We see on his jacket covering Emily, “The Kingsman, Your Grace, Duke of Oxford 07/03/01”, and it focuses on the title. This is a brilliant beginning, a fresh setting, seeing the horrors of war, and the Arthurian nods are perfect.
It is “12 years later”, a yellow biplane soars over green fields, it lands before a mansion. Rows of servants await the pilots. They are Oxford and his now older son (Harris Dickinson). The actor was in the romantic movie, The Souvenir: Part II (2021). Shola welcomes the duke. Oxford walks with a cane from his injury. He stops at one servant, Polly Watkins (Gemma Arterton), and wants her at his study. Arterton was in the drama, Summerland (2020). Oxford sees the portrait of his wife. He says he does not want her opinion. She says he is too protective of Conrad and Oxford admits he needs a nanny too. Outside, shirtless, Conrad spars with Shola using wooden daggers scored with red and white powder. The duo are disturbed by Polly who was fired a gun.
They head to Saville Road, Westminster, Oxford has taken him to “the world’s finest tailor”, King’sman. Conrad is given his first suit. Oxford tells his son that they came from brutal people who became noble, but wants his son to be a gentleman. He is greeted by Kitchener who wants a private room to talk to him. Kitchener has his aide, Morton (Matthew Goode), stay with Conrad. Goode is in A Discovery of Witches. Once, in the pattern room, Kitchener mentions the refused invitation by Archiduke Ferdinand. He thinks the archiduke may be in danger. Morton asks Conrad if he wants to be a soldier and his father wants him to get a shooting suit. In a massive, tower of a mountain, a rickety, lift brings the arrival of a dark, bearded man. This is Rasputin (Rhys Ifans). The actor voiced The Lizard in Spider-Man: No Way Home (2021).
He has brought a Fabrege egg for the leader of a group at a table, the Shepherd. The leader’s raspy voice (with a bit of a Scottish brogue) mentions trust that he only finds in animals and asks if he can trust all of the assembled flock. They find boxes with rings that have animal symbols and the Shepherd warns them that if he has lost their trust, they will get a “final gift.” Rasputin doesn’t like his tortoise and wants to trade for the bear of Gavrilo Princip (Joel Basman). The other film for Basman was the German war film, The Royal Game (2021). Erik Jan Hanussen (Daniel Brühl) says the Shepherd deserves respect. Brühl reprised the role of Baron Zemo in The Falcon and the Winter Soldier.
Mata Hari (Valerie Pachner) dares Rasputin to take the bear ring. Pachner was in the Terrence Malick film, A Hidden Life (2019). The Shepherd says they are a team and walks up to his goat, Angus, and takes the goat's head with his sword. Then, he brings the sword to Rasputin until he backs down. He says his spy knows that Kitchener is worried about Archduke Ferdinand. The Shepherd sends Princip and the group bangs their rings on the table in unision. Later, Princip assembles an explosive device, and puts it in his coat. Below Princip’s balcony, the people cheer as a car with Archduke Ferdinand (Ron Cook) passes on the streets of Sarajevo, he is being advised by Oxford.
The archduke says he will make a decision. Conrad in the front seat waves at a woman, Princip pushes her aside to throw the explosive, Conrad uses his cane to knock it aside. It blows up the car behind them and Oxford orders the driver to escape the chaos. Princip retreats behind the front door. The archduke jokes at his welcome in Serbia to an assembled crowd in a hall. Oxford wants his son back home and says he doesn’t know about the evil of the world. On a street cafe, Princip empties from his ring, a pill. He is about to take the pill when the archduke and Oxford take a wrong turn down a street. Princip takes a gun from his waist and shoots the archduke and his wife, Sophie (Barbara Drennan)! Oxford sees Archduke Ferdinand's dying eyes.
On a private train car, Oxford tells his son that the Austrian army is getting ready for war. He relates the story of three cousins arguing with their grandmother, Queen Victoria (Alexa Povah) stopping their fight. The boys become Kaiser Wilhelm from Germany, Russia’s Tsar Nicholas, and King George of England (all played by Tom Hollander!). The actor was also in Bird Box (2018). King George has the photo of the three cousins with letters sent by Kitchener. He has Morton take care of it. This enrages Kaiser Wilhelm which he tells Erik who reminds him that the cousins made fun of his deformed hand. Tsar Nicholas wants to oppose Kaiser Wilhelm, much to the approval of Rasputin! Oxford wonders to Kitchener why it has come to war.
Morton reminds them they have a meeting with the prime minister. Um, I sense traitor vibes with him. Conrad tries to volunteer, but he is too young. The British soldiers fix bayonets and run from the trenches only to be cut down. Narration by the Shepherd notes it has only been two years when the battlefields have turned the countryside into ruin. There are hills of shells as the Shepherd explains that the trust is lost between the people and the monarchs. He wants revenge for Scotland and has Russia withdraw its forces for Germany to attack England. Conrad wants to join the conscription and is angry with his father. He shows his son his Victoria Cross, we see his killing of Afghan fighters, then sees himself in the mirror, afterwards dedicating himself to the Red Cross.
The collison of the three countries going to war finally has Oxford take his son to the cellar. There he explains taken a pacifist stance he can be in the right place without suspicion. It is the operations room of his group including Polly and Shola. They have formed a network of servants who move as spies in military and political rooms. Oxford had found the prisoner, Princip, with his ring pointing to another force. Their next mission is to go to Russia and deal with Rasputin. Eventually, the United States with President Woodrow Wilson (Ian Kelly) has to take a position in the world war. has the formation of the spy organization, against a historical backdrop and figures. It also highlights the bloody cost of war and The King’s Man is a brilliant action movie that has a conscious, plus a generous helping of history and historical figures.
Five Kingsman Suits out of Five!
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