POSITIVES
Fan’s of the Kingsman franchise will find some things to like about this, like how this origin story is applied to the backdrop of World War I, and some of the world building mechanics like a specific network of spies.
Ralph Fiennes is fantastic as expected playing the Duke of Oxford, but I’d like to give a specific shout-out to Rhys Ifans who looks like he is having just the most absolute fun hamming it up as Grigori Rasputin.
There are some solid set pieces here, like the big Rasputin sequence, the war on the front lines, to the final action filled third act.
Story wise, there are actually several plot surprises to keep you on your toes, but there is one particular surprise that I have to give them kudos for really catching me off guard.
Gotta love the camera work in this film, from how it frames the action beats, to that sword-cam!
NEGATIVES
For a movie that’s filled with so much visual spectacle and intriguing plot points, there’s this feeling of unremarkableness to the whole thing.
I get that there’s a theme and a point to this story, but it’s seriously overshadowed by it’s constant need to focus so much on the plot mechanics.
Many of the characters are just so disappointingly underwritten and are only there to serve the plot when convenient.
Not necessarily criticizing Harris Dickinson specifically, but the character of Conrad is just kind of a boring uninspired protagonist, that I should have cared more for, but didn’t.
Augh. Depiction of animal cruelty. Augh.
loveditenjoyedit LIKED IT itsokayitsmehitsterrible
