Back in 2014, Kingsman: The Secret Service was a bigger hit than most people expected it to be. Featuring some modern spy action, a great villain, as well as a cast of characters that interacted in fun and organic ways, it was a pleasant surprise to see it end up on a lot of people’s best of the year lists. It was clear that the series would continue, though it did so with a polarizing sequel. While Kingsman: The Golden Circle wasn’t an awful movie by any means, it definitely wasn’t as strong as it could have been, made worse by a marketing campaign that ruined the movie’s biggest twist months before the film ever released.
It looks like The King’s Man learned from that marketing blunder, giving us a trailer that is light on details in a way that makes me want to see more of the movie. Set in the early 1900’s, The King’s Man will showcase the foundation of the Kingsman agency in order to stop nefarious men from taking over/destroying the world. In this case, the main villain looks to be the immortal internet meme himself, Rasputin, and feature other historical figures like Czar Nicholas II and Kaiser Wilhelm II.
But you don’t care about the historical components, right? You just want to know if the action is good. Based on the trailer, it looks like we’re going to get a lot more sword and knife fights than in previous entries, which in my opinion are usually far more impressive than gunfights are. It’s more of a spectacle to watch, and with the franchise’s crowning moment so far being the up close and personal “Free Bird” brawl, consider me interested in what The King’s Man has to offer.
The King’s Man releases February 14, 2020.
