‘The King’s Man’ movie review: Origin story lacks that secret sauce
The Hindu
Matthew Vaughn’s prequel describing the origins of the super-secret intelligence agency, is unfortunately not as much fun as the earlier two films in the franchise
Matthew Vaughn’s Kingsman: The Secret Service in 2014, based on Mark Millar and Dave Gibbons’ comic book The Secret Service, was a jolly, revisionist take on spy movies and James Bond. The suits, demented sidekick, gadgets, puns and megalomaniac villain (Samuel L Jackson was hilarious as tech guru Valentine) with a mind-blowing (pun intended) plan to take over the world was unbridled fun.
The sequel, Kingsman: The Golden Circle (2017), was more of the same with Julianne Moore filling Jackson’s manic boots. The King’s Man, a prequel describing the origins of the super-secret intelligence agency, is unfortunately not as much fun as the other two films.
While featuring an ensemble cast, bizarre villains and sufficiently high stakes, the uneven tone proves its undoing, veering as it does wildly between pathos and bathos. It also takes time to hit its stride.