Review | The King’s Man movie review: Ralph Fiennes plays action hero in old-fashioned spy adventure
- This prequel to Kingsman: The Secret Service takes the spy story back to the turn of the 20th century
- Fiennes shines as a swashbuckling action hero, while Rhys Ifans plays the mad monk Rasputin brilliantly
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4/5 stars
Set in the early 20th century, The King’s Man does what its predecessors didn’t, throwing real-life events (the horrors of the first world war) and historical figures (Rasputin, Russian Tsar Nicholas II and more) into the melting pot to come up with a ripsnorting old-fashioned adventure.
Ralph Fiennes plays the Duke of Oxford, an adept agent who comes to induct his 17-year-old son Conrad (Harris Dickinson) into the fold, recalling the Colin Firth/Taron Egerton spy/protégé relationship from the original. Helping Oxford is the more-than-meets-the-eye maid Polly (Gemma Arterton) and manservant Shola (Djimon Hounsou).
The mission is to stop a group of high-ranking, havoc-causing maniacs led by a shadowy figure whose lair is high up on a mountaintop – the sort of impregnable fortress that you see in Sean Connery-era Bond.
Along the way, they encounter Russia’s very own mad monk, Rasputin (brilliantly played by Rhys Ifans as part rock star, part sex god), leading to one of the most entertaining fight sequences you’ll see on screen all year.
Fiennes, who in the 007 series is usually the one seen sending Bond off on an adventure, is thoroughly convincing as an action hero. He has a dashing derring-do about him (all that RADA sword training has clearly not been forgotten) that infuses the whole film.
While Vaughn ensures the stunts – from aerial escapades to vertigo-inducing climbs – don’t feel creaky, The King’s Man has a welcome Saturday afternoon matinee quality.
British actor Tom Hollander plays a trio of roles – Britain’s King George V, Tsar Nicholas II and German Kaiser Wilhelm II – as if he were a latter-day Peter Sellers or Alec Guinness.
While the film was delayed multiple times because of Covid-19, it seems the wait was worth it; The King’s Man is a big-screen experience with plenty of whizz-bang about it. Aside from a rocky first 20 minutes where it struggles to find its footing, this is an action adventure that refuses to stop until the last punch has been thrown.
