THE KING'S MAN: BRILLIANTLY BALANCED, DOES NOT TAKE ITSELF TOO SERIOUSLY
Director Vaughn effectively used the backdrop of the WW1 era and crafted the plot around major historical characters, complete with a plethora of foes ranging from Rasputin to Matahari
'The King's Man' is the highly anticipated third instalment in a franchise of movies which began with Kingsman: The Secret Service in 2014. The British-spy comedy series is acclaimed for its neatly woven – and at times quirky – storylines, and spectacular action scenes.
The plot of the franchise revolves around Kingsman, an independent top-secret international intelligence agency based in the UK. The Kingsman is responsible for protecting the world from terrorists and major threats. The latest instalment is a prequel to the last two films. Directed by Matthew Vaughn, this latest instalment is based on the graphic novel, 'The Secret Service', by Mark Millar and Dave Gibbons.
The film stars Ralph Fiennes (Orlando Oxford) as an English aristocrat – Duke of Oxford. He feels the need to extinguish conflicts before they even occur due to a tragedy which caused the death of his wife. He goes on to establish an intelligence agency capable of cracking even the most difficult of codes.
Director Vaughn effectively used the backdrop of the WW1 era and crafted the plot around major historical characters, complete with a plethora of foes ranging from Rasputin to Matahari.
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The film brilliantly balanced its light and dark tones. It was melancholic to watch Orlando's son, Conrad, fixated on avenging his mother's tragedy. But with the additions of ridiculous scenes, such as Rasputin carving out the alphabets on a leg wound in an attempt to heal it, kept the movie from taking itself too seriously.
However, it is worth mentioning that 'The King's Man' has a very slow burn to it at the beginning. It just takes too long to get to the good parts! The film keeps its viewer waiting for quite some time to even reveal the villain of the story.
This mysterious character might completely catch you off guard though. He lives in the middle of nowhere, and is somehow still equipped with a network of agents doing his bidding. Every time something goes wrong, he maniacally swings his sword at innocent mountain goats. The storyline is peculiar and hilarious in all the right ways.
The film was an intriguing and amusing precursor to the Kingsman collective, thanks to Ralph Fiennes' sterling acting. Despite the amazingly accurate depiction of the era – ranging from the wardrobe to the realities of being besieged in a warzone – the hilarious writing kept the fun and excitement alive in every scene.
However, unlike the preceding fare of neatly woven, action-packed, spy parody the franchise is known for, this instalment explored much grimmer and darker concepts.
The score and music of the film is also worthy of a mention. It features 'Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap' by AC/DC, 'War Pigs' by Black Sabbath, and Measure of a Man (ft. Central Cee) by Fka twigs, to name a few. They complimented the action scenes just perfectly.
As a viewer, 'The King's Man' is one of those rare movies I found to succeed at almost every level – starting from the characters, cinematography, wardrobe to every joke that landed. 'The King's Man' is an easy recommendation worthy of your time.
