You may be forgiven for a touch of déjà vu, butKingsmanprequelThe King’s Manis once again about to arrive in cinemas, and while we seem to have nearly gotten here a few times … this time it seems like theRalph Fiennes-led movie is going to stick with its late December release. Now, we are seeing the first reviews arriving online from both critics and regular audiences that have been given an early preview of the film, and with fans of the franchise not exactly sure what to expect, they really shouldn’t look to these opinions for any enlightenment.
The King’s Manis the third film released in the franchise based on Mark Millar and Dave Gibbons’ comic bookThe Secret Service. The first two movies, 2014’sKingsman: The Secret Serviceand 2017 sequelKingsman: The Golden Circle, were clearly marketed as being in the comedy spy genre and they lived up to the name. The prequel however is something different, as being set in the past it qualifies as a period drama and while it keeps the spy elements and some comedic elements, the first reviews on the film suggest that these elements don’t meld together very well and leave the film a tonal mess.
Gizmodo reporter Germain Lussier was one of those who didn’t quite get on board the new movie, saying, “I was not a fan of The King’s Man. I love the first two films & Vaughn’s work overall but this prequel doesn’t particularly enrich that mythology. The action is fun when it happens but there isn’t a ton and the story is awkwardly disjointed. I forgot about it the moment it ended.”
Screen Rant’s Molly Freeman equally not impressed with the prequel, despite being a big fan of the original movies. She wrote, “As someone who loves the first Kingsman movie and really enjoyed the second one, all I really have to say about The King’s Man is… it’s bad. There’s some neat action and fun performances, but the story and tone are a mess and the “comedy” is downright awful at times.”
Jeff Ewing seemed to sum up the overriding feeling, saying, “THE KING’S MAN feels like two very different films, 1917 in a KINGSMAN shell. The script seems like pages of two separate scripts shuffled together. When there is action it’s well done, but the implications of the villain are messy (to put it mildly).”
However, the film does have some fans, though few and far between, including Cassam Looch, who offered, “The King’s Man is an unexpectedly emotional WWI story, brilliant Ralph Fiennes action movie and historical prequel all rolled into one. A fitting origin yarn to the first film. A big thumbs up from me.” Horror media YouTuber Ryan Hollinger also went out on a limb to suggest The King’s Man is the best of the series. He wrote, “The King’s Man might be one of the bigger surprises this year! It has the series’ over-bloated and messy pace, but story-wise it’s much more grounded and remarkably poignant. Probably the best in the series. Rhys Ifans’ Rasputin is perfect. He’s an insane wildcard Bond villain.”
If you would like to make up your own mind aboutThe King’s Man, then you’re able to finally catch it in cinemas after a two-year delay on December 22nd.
