Kingsman series

  • The King’s Man (2021)

    ByChristian Sauvé Movie Review

    (Disney Streaming, March 2022) There’s a very strange creative decision at the heart of The King’s Man that mystifies me to no end—when you’re making a spinoff to a series known for its action/comedy bent, why change course to something much more serious? For that matter, why even attempt the course correction when it’s so inconsistently applied? Spinning off the Kingsmen series’ blend of gory action and vulgar comedy, writer-director Matthew Vaughn takes this historical prequel to the First World War to explain how the Kingsmen came to be and what shadowy role its founders played in the secret history of the conflict. It’s not necessarily a bad idea… but the opening half-hour is surprisingly, almost unbearably dull: consumed with a misguided intention to be serious (even tragic) and historically half-accurate about the factors leading to World War I. It dissipates much of the potential energy of the film, and it’s telling that, about halfway through, The King’s Man shakes itself off from its torpor for the first in a series of increasingly outlandish action sequences (or good sequences, such as fast-forward through the creation of No Man’s Land) that come too late to save the film from itself. It also does get stupider along the way, which is not necessarily a good thing either. A strong cast (Ralph Fiennes, Gemma Arterton, Djimon Hounsou, Charles Dance, etc.) all feel wasted. The only way in which The King’s Man makes more sense is in a larger British myth-making movement, in which elements of Britannica are examined in a contemporary fashion, and rebuilt as essential elements of British identity—King Arthur, the Monarchy, Benchley Park, James Bond and now World War I. (Which, to be frank, wasn’t such an inspiring moment for the British military.) That’s the best I’ve got—The King’s Man is unexplainably dull at what it first tries to do, then seems to realize the error of its ways but does too little to avoid ending as more than a middling follow-up.

  • Kingsman: The Golden Circle (2017)

    Kingsman: The Golden Circle (2017)

    ByChristian Sauvé Movie Review

    (On Cable TV, July 2018) I liked the original Kingsman film, but with a number of significant reservations: writer/director Matthew Vaughn can turn out action set pieces like few others, but his sense of humour is crass, and his fondness for unpleasant gore (matching the source comic) takes away from what would otherwise be a more fun experience. Many of those highs and lows are also on display during Kingsman: The Golden Circle: the visual design (wow, that villain’s lair!), energetic direction and colourful characters are all great good fun … if it wasn’t for such over-the-top gore as many characters being fed through a meat grinder with subsequent cannibalism. Eeew. Or the heave-inducing “plant the tracker” sequence plot-engineered to be as gross as possible. It’s things like that which make it impossible to recommend the film without numerous qualifications, or to justify the acquisition of a Blu-ray edition. Still, at other times this sequel matches or outshines the original. Plot-wise, the film’s mess: predictable set-pieces grind the film to a halt when they’re dull, and speed by when they’re fun. The American Statesmen offer an amusing contrast to the Kingsmen, expanding the madcap world of the original. Protagonist Eggsy is all grown-up, slick and suave, meaning that we get to spend far less time with the chavs and he gets to play the Bond role model he became at the end of the first film. One likable character makes it back to the sequel only long enough to be killed, but on the flip side we’ve got Colin Firth back with charm, Pedro Pascal making a great impression, Julianne Moore chomping on scenery as an unusual villain, no less than Elton John being turned in an action hero, and Halle Berry bringing her best to the screen. Some of the action scenes are fun in more or less exactly the same way as the original: Pseudo one-take action sequences with plenty of speed ramping are once again at the forefront of what the film has to offer in-between needless gore and adolescent tittering. I don’t usually bother with star ratings because they’re overly reductive, but Kingsman: The Golden Circle offers another failure mode for them: When the good stuff in the film is forth four stars out of five and the bad stuff is repellent enough for warrant a sole star, a three-star compromise doesn’t quite seem to accurately present a good idea of the final result. Can Vaughn grow up so that we don’t have to approach his next movies with a ten-foot pole and an apprehensive stance?