This is a prequel to the 2015 film
"Kingsman", sometimes known as "Kingsman: The Secret Service". It shows how the
Kingsman spy organisation came about at the beginning of the 20th Century.
The film's main character is Ralph Fiennes as Orlando Oxford, the Duke of
Oxford. He was a war hero in the Boer War, but he became a pacifist after
being disgusted by what his country was doing. When the First World War breaks
out, his son Conrad is determined to join the army, but he refuses to give him
permission while he's underage. In 1916 Conrad turns 18, so he's able to sign
up for the army without his father's permission. Orlando is a friend of King
George, so he asks the king to keep him away from the fighting. Conrad
realises what's happening, so when he's posted to a position in London he
exchanges identities with a young Scottish soldier. Conrad volunteers for a
dangerous mission on the front line, and he's awarded a Victoria Cross.
Posthumously.
The First World War was a family affair. King George of England, Kaiser
Wilhelm of Germany and Tsar Nicholas of Russia were cousins. This didn't stop
them sending armies against one another. Orlando tried diplomacy to make the
three cousins stop fighting and be friends, but it wasn't possible.
Britain and Russia were allies against Germany. A shadowy Scottish figure who
calls himself the Shepherd wants Germany to win the war, so he uses the monk
Rasputin to persuade Nicholas to withdraw his troops. This puts Orlando in a
difficult position. He wants the war to end, but not with Germany as victor,
so he has to stop Rasputin.
The Kingsman spy agency isn't formed until 1919 when the war is over.Orlando
has learnt lessons from the conflict. There has to be a secret society that
isn't controlled by any government, a society which is able to work for peace.
Gemma Arterton plays Polly, a maid who becomes one of Kingsman's founders. A
maid? The film is anachronistic in its portrayal of women. In those dark days
of male chauvinism women didn't have equal rights, but the Duke of Oxford
treats her as his equal. She may work for him, as far as the outside world is
concerned, but she's his closest companion and trusted advisor.
"The King's Man" has less humour than the two Kingsman films set in the
present day. I can't say whether that's good or bad in itself, but
it gives the film a different style to the others.
The film is available for streaming on Disney Plus only five months after it
was in the cinema. I'm glad, for purely selfish reasons, but that's a sign
that the film wasn't successful at the box office. That's unfortunate. Adolf
Hitler is introduced in a mid credits scene, so I was hoping for a sequel to
be made soon. There's still hope.
Hitler is played by the young German actor David Kross. In Germany playing
Hitler is a right of passage. It happens to every actor at some point in his career,
even if he doesn't have a physical resemblance. Am I exaggerating? When I have time
I'll make a list of all the German actors who've played Hitler.
A film that's found its way to streaming even faster is
"Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness". It's streaming less than two months after it was released, and only three
weeks after I saw it in the cinema.
Success Rate: - 0.7
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