Ralph Fiennes, Djimon Hounsou, Harris Dickinson and Rhys Ifans attending "The King's Man" New York Gala Screening. Credit: Dimitrios Kambouris, GettyImages

Prequels can make for poor full-length feature films if executed poorly. They are primarily rooted as origin stories—an explanation for the state of a fictional world or a catalyst as to why a character’s motivations drive them forward. These are perfectly valid writing tools, but to get technical for a moment, there’s rarely enough substance in an origin story to span nearly a two-hour runtime onscreen.

There are exceptions, such as the Lord of the Rings prequels, but that is because they meet a singular, fundamental criteria: Prequels should add something to the world building or characters that make its prior original story stronger as a whole.

The King’s Man in a Nutshell

The King’s Man is a 2021 prequel to the Kingsman film series; an almost satirical take on classic British spy films which thrived primarily on its comedy, intertwined with convoluted villainous plots and its memorably exciting action sequences. The church scene from the Kingsman: The Secret Service is perhaps one of the most seamless and thrilling fights choreographed on the big screen. Although the sequel wasn’t as highly received, both movies left their mark and had audiences satisfied by an engaging cinema experience.

And yet the writers felt a burning need to storyboard an explanation for why the Kingsman Agency exists and who its founders were. That isn’t inherently a poor idea for a five-minute flashback, but its execution in actuality was nothing short of a critical disappointment.

Cast members Ralph Fiennes, Tom Hollander, Gemma Arterton and Rhys Ifans attend the World Premiere of "The King's Man" at Cineworld Leicester Square. Credit: Samir Hussein, GettyImages

Set during the entire four-year period of WW1, starting from the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria, the story follows a small family of aristocrats, the Oxfords—Duke of Oxford (Ralph Fiennes) and his son Conrad (Harris Dickinson). They’re in a race against time to stop the true masterminds fuelling the fires of war in order to prevent the death of millions more after the fighting has already commenced. That’s the plot in a nutshell, pulled into a two-hour runtime.

With this plot in mind, what purpose does The King’s Man serve as a prequel? Is it a vital backbone to the franchise a whole? And does it hold up on its own merits?

Threat Levels and Predictability

Prequels, in general, suffer greatly from predictability. That is, in essence, the root of a prequel—you know how the story is supposed to end, but that shouldn’t account for all the relevant plot threads before the finale. Many writers have attempted prequels based around pre-existing characters, therefore all tension is immediately stolen when danger and threats are framed in a serious light. But because The King’s Man focuses on an entirely new cast, there was room for surprises. That being said, there weren’t any.

Well, that isn’t entirely fair. A single moment defied expectations—just one, and that was a specific character’s death. It was abrupt and jarring and weaved genuine character conflict for a short while until a cliche motivational speech was given to drag the plot back on its linier rails. Otherwise, the only decent threat came from a long-winded sword fight between the main cast and the antagonist portrayal of Grigori Rasputin (Rhys Ifans), where defeating him was a genuine struggle—until a pistol shot from another character ended the action.

Actress Gemma Arterton attending the World Premiere of "The King's Man" at Cineworld Leicester Square. Credit: Samir Hussein, GettyImages

The villain doesn’t hold much weight either because a single moment already spoiled the outcome to the audience; when an antagonist causes harm to an irrelevant individual, that individual will likely be the cause of their demise. Here’s the short version to see if you can guess how the villain dies: the villain’s hideout is on top of a giant cliff, and he deliberately harmed his prized ram.

The Kingsman Formula

The action in The King’s Man is dull and the comedy is either non-existent or painfully awkward. Two of the most fundamental aspects of a Kingsman film is at its weakest in its third instalment.

Kingsman: The Secret Service’s action fell in line with the synchronised choreography of a fast-paced modern Bond movie, all while contributing its own brand that gave each fight scene their own comedic bite. You’re almost startled by how fast the action sequences escalate that it becomes ridiculous—and that’s what made them fun and satisfying to watch. The writers weren’t afraid to be silly with a visual, gory flare, and they knew how to setup jokes that didn’t feel forced.

However, although the King’s Man is labelled as a comedy/action, there were either attempts that fell flat or there were no actual attempts at all. Specific scenes that were maybe supposed to be comedic fell hard due to how painfully awkward they were. As for the action, it isn’t poorly choreographed but there’s a seething boredom to the entire production after the Rasputin fight. And boredom is the last thing anyone wants to feel watching a Kingsman movie.

The King’s Man cast and crew attending the World Premiere screening at Cineworld Leicester Square. Credit: Gareth Cattermole, GettyImages

A Final Word

It’s safe to say The King’s Man doesn’t quite meet the standards of a decent prequel. What’s worse is it doesn’t meet the standards of a series that delighted in just having fun with its concept.

Plot is either dragged out with repetitive conflicts while the finer details are rushed to the point of being jarring. The character writing is weak, failing to inspire much investment from the audience (Ralph Fiennes’ performance is wasted in a comedy where there is none.) And the tone bounces between acts that it’s glaringly obvious that the writers were unsure on what they wanted out of the project. Maybe there were simply too many cooks; ironic, given the first Kingsman had more writers on the team.

A third sequel to Kingsman may have suffered similar issues; the cracks would start to show in the writing after exhausting much of the charm, thrill and character development during the first two films. But at least it wouldn’t be as mind-numbingly boring as The King’s Man 2021.

Overall Rating: ★★☆☆☆

How not to Write a Prequel: The King's Man 2021