The King's Man | |
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Directed by | Matthew Vaughn |
Screenplay by |
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Story by | Matthew Vaughn |
Based on | |
Produced by |
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Starring | |
Cinematography | Ben Davis[1] |
Edited by |
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Music by | |
Production companies |
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Distributed by | 20th Century Studios |
Release dates |
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Running time | 131 minutes[2] |
Countries |
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Language | English |
Budget | $100 million[3] |
Box office | $125.7 million[4][5] |
The King's Man is a 2021 spy action film directed by Matthew Vaughn from a screenplay by Vaughn and Karl Gajdusek and a story by Vaughn. The third installment in the British Kingsman film series, which is based on the comic book The Secret Service (later retitled to Kingsman) by Mark Millar and Dave Gibbons, it is a prequel to Kingsman: The Secret Service (2014) and Kingsman: The Golden Circle (2017). Its ensemble cast includes Ralph Fiennes (also one of its executive producers), Gemma Arterton, Rhys Ifans, Matthew Goode, Tom Hollander, Harris Dickinson, Daniel Brühl, Djimon Hounsou, and Charles Dance. It focuses on several events during World War I and the birth of the Kingsman organization.
It was released in the United States on December 22, 2021, and in the United Kingdom on December 26, 2021 by 20th Century Studios,[6] delayed several times from an original November 2019 release date, partially due to the COVID-19 pandemic. It received mixed reviews from critics,[7] grossing $125 million against nearly a $100 million budget.
In 1902, British aristocrat Orlando, Duke of Oxford, his wife Emily, and their young son Conrad visit a concentration camp in South Africa during the Second Boer War while working for the Red Cross. Emily is mortally wounded during a Boer sniper attack on the camp. Before she dies, Emily makes Orlando promise never to let their son see the war again.
Twelve years later, Orlando has recruited two of his servants, Shola and Polly, into his spy network dedicated to protecting the United Kingdom and the British Empire from the approaching Great War. Conrad, eager to fight, is forbidden to join up by the protective Orlando, who persuades Lord Kitchener, Secretary of State for War, not to let him join the army.
At the behest of Kitchener, Conrad and Orlando ride with Orlando's friend Archduke Franz Ferdinand through Sarajevo. Conrad saves the Archduke from a bomb thrown by Gavrilo Princip, a rebel intent on sparking a war. Later, however, Princip happens to run into the Archduke's entourage again, this time succeeding in fatally shooting the Archduke and his wife Sophie. Orlando, relying on information from other dignitaries' socially invisible servants, learn that Princip was part of "The Flock": a group plotting to pit the German, Russian, and British empires against each other. The Flock, led by "The Shepherd" from an isolated clifftop headquarters, has their own network of agents, including Russian mystic Grigori Rasputin, trusted adviser to Tsar Nicholas of Russia.
On the Shepherd's orders, Rasputin poisons Tsar Nicholas's young son Alexei, only to cure him when Nicholas promises to stay out of the war. Conrad is notified of Rasputin's manipulation by his cousin, Prince Felix Yusupov. Knowing the Western Front will be left vulnerable if Russia leaves the war, Conrad delivers this information to Kitchener and his aide-de-camp Major Max Morton, who set sail for Russia. Their ship is torpedoed by a submarine and sunk. Word of Kitchener's death reaches Orlando, spurring him to head to Russia with Shola, Polly, and Conrad to deal with Rasputin once and for all. After a grueling close fight, Orlando, Shola, Conrad, and Polly successfully kill Rasputin during a Christmas party hosted by Prince Yusupov. Later that night, after celebrating his 19th birthday, Conrad expresses his determination to join the army, much to Orlando's dismay.
At the Shepherd's orders, Erik Jan Hanussen, an adviser to Kaiser Wilhelm II, sends the Zimmermann Telegram, hoping to distract Britain and the United States. Although the message is intercepted by British intelligence and deciphered by Polly, President Woodrow Wilson refuses to join the war, citing a lack of concrete proof. The Shepherd recruits Vladimir Lenin and orders his Bolsheviks to overthrow the Tsar and remove Russia from the war, sending an assassin to kill the Romanovs.
Now of age, Conrad is commissioned into the Grenadier Guards against his father's wishes. Orlando meets with King George V, who summons Conrad back to Britain. Conrad, determined to fight in the war, swaps places with a soldier named Archie Reid, giving him the nickname "Lancelot" to send his father a message. Disguised as Archie, a member of the Black Watch, Conrad volunteers for a mission into No-Man's Land to retrieve information from a British agent wounded there. However, upon returning, he is mistaken for a German spy and executed at gunpoint, devastating Orlando. Nonetheless, the information he retrieved is deemed indisputable proof for Wilson to enter the war.
After Wilson again refuses to enter the war, despite Conrad's proof, Orlando learns that Wilson is being blackmailed with film footage showing him being seduced by the Shepherd's agent, Mata Hari, and resolves to return it to him so he will agree to enter the war. Upon defeating Hari at the American embassy, Orlando has her cashmere scarf identified as being made from rare wool only found in a specific mountainous region. Pinpointing this location as the Shepherd's base of operations, Orlando, Shola, and Polly head there and fight their way inside. The Shepherd is revealed to be Morton, who had faked his own death and killed Kitchener himself. Orlando and Shola fight and kill Morton while Polly recovers the film negative of Wilson's seduction, allowing Wilson to mobilise his troops.
A year after the war, Orlando purchases the Kingsman Tailor Shop as a front for his organisation. Orlando, Shola, Polly, King George, Archie, and the U.S. Ambassador to the U.K. form the original Kingsman, each assuming codenames from the King Arthur legend to honour Conrad. In a mid-credit scene, Hanussen, having taken on the Shepherd identity, introduces Lenin to the Romanovs' killer: a young Adolf Hitler.
In June 2018, Matthew Vaughn announced that a prequel film titled Kingsman: The Great Game was in active development, stating that the plot would take place during the early 1900s and would depict the formation of the spy agency and that the project would film back-to-back with "the third regular Kingsman film" which was scheduled to be released in 2021.[9][10]
In September 2018, it was announced that Ralph Fiennes and Harris Dickinson would star in the prequel with the former also serving as one of the executive producers of the film.[11] In November 2018, it was revealed that Daniel Brühl, Charles Dance, Rhys Ifans and Matthew Goode would co-star in the film.[12]
In February 2019, it was reported that Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Gemma Arterton, Tom Hollander, Djimon Hounsou, Alison Steadman, Stanley Tucci, Robert Aramayo and Neil Jackson had joined the cast.[13][14][15] In April 2019, it was announced Alexandra Maria Lara had joined the cast of the film.[16] Later in May, Joel Basman joined the cast.[17][18] That same month, as filming concluded, Vaughn denied reports that Liam Neeson had joined the cast.[19][20] Vaughn also said The Great Game was a working title and the film would not have that name.[19]
Principal photography began January 22, 2019 in the United Kingdom.[21] In April 2019, some scenes were shot in Piedmont, Italy: Turin, Po river's street, street of city and in two palaces close to it; Venaria Reale: the Palace of Venaria and royal gardens; Nichelino, Palazzina di caccia of Stupinigi and surroundings; Racconigi (Cuneo), Castle of Racconigi.[22] The film's initial cinematographer Ben Davis had to depart the project during reshoots due to his commitments to Eternals.[23]
The King's Man had its world premiere in London, United Kingdom on December 7, 2021 and was theatrically released on December 22, 2021, its eighth proposed release date and more than two years after it was originally due to come out.[24][25]
It was originally scheduled to be released on November 8, 2019,[26] but was pushed back first to November 15, 2019,[27] then to February 14, 2020,[28] and then to September 18, 2020.[29] The release date was again pushed back by Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures to February 26, 2021, due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[30][31] Following the delay of Marvel Cinematic Universe: Phase Four films, The King's Man was moved up two weeks to February 12, 2021, before being moved again to March 12, 2021.[32] In January 2021, the release date was delayed again to August 20, 2021.[33] In March 2021, it was further delayed to the December 2021 date.[34] The film will play in cinemas for 45 days before heading to digital platforms.[35]
The film started streaming on Disney+ through Star in the UK, Ireland, Japan, and South Korea on February 9, 2022.[36] It streamed on HBO Max and Hulu on February 18 and on Star+ on March 2.[37] The film streamed on Disney+ Hotstar on February 23, 2022 in Southeast Asia.[38] The film was released on Blu-ray, DVD, and 4K Ultra HD by 20th Century Studios Home Entertainment on February 22.[39]
The King's Man (Original Motion Picture Score) | ||||
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Soundtrack album by | ||||
Released | 22 December 2021 | |||
Genre | Film score | |||
Label | Hollywood Records | |||
Kingsman chronology | ||||
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Matthew Margeson chronology | ||||
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Dominic Lewis chronology | ||||
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Matthew Margeson, who worked with Henry Jackman in the previous Kingsman films, composed the film score with Dominic Lewis. Hollywood Records released the soundtrack digitally on 22 December 2021.[40] The ending theme is "Measure of a Man" by FKA Twigs featuring Central Cee.[41]
All music is composed by Matthew Margeson and Dominic Lewis.
No. | Title | Length |
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1. | "The King's Man" | 4:16 |
2. | "The Promise" | 3:35 |
3. | "Savile Row" | 1:49 |
4. | "Oxfords, Not Rogues" | 3:31 |
5. | "My Shepherd" | 4:33 |
6. | "We Three Kings" | 3:06 |
7. | "Cost of War" | 3:26 |
8. | "The Lord's Vessel" | 2:20 |
9. | "Network of Domestics" | 4:28 |
10. | "Let Me Lick Your Wounds" | 3:23 |
11. | "Dance on Your Graves" | 4:10 |
12. | "Cracking the Code" | 3:06 |
13. | "We Shall Not Sleep" | 3:39 |
14. | "Silent Knife" | 4:26 |
15. | "Crying Conrad" | 2:19 |
16. | "Lionheart" | 1:55 |
17. | "Dulce et Decorum est" | 4:57 |
18. | "Skydiving" | 2:45 |
19. | "Goliath" | 2:43 |
20. | "Out of the Shadows" | 1:56 |
21. | "Crooked Blade" | 2:14 |
22. | "Victoria Cross" | 3:09 |
23. | "Knights of the Roundtable" | 3:49 |
24. | "The New Flock" | 2:26 |
As of 27 February 2022[update], The King's Man has grossed $37.1 million in the US and Canada, and $88.6 million in other territories, for a worldwide total $125.7 million.[42][43]
In the US and Canada, The King's Man was released alongside Sing 2 and The Matrix Resurrections. It was originally projected to gross $15–20 million from 3,175 screens over its first five days of release.[44] It went on to under-perform, grossing $5.9 million in its opening weekend and an estimated $10 million over the five days, finishing fifth at the box office, with contributing factors such as the reluctance to go to cinemas during the pandemic, the rise of the Omicron variant of COVID and being released during the second weekend of Spider-Man: No Way Home. Men made up 65% of the audience during its opening, with those in the age range of 18–34 comprising 54% of ticket sales and those above 35 comprising 40%.[45][46] The film earned $4.6 million in its second weekend,[47] $3.2 million in its third,[48] $2.2 million in its fourth,[49] $1.8 million in its fifth,[50] $1.66 million in its sixth,[51] $1.2 million in its seventh,[52] and $426,262 in its eighth.[53]
Outside the US and Canada, the film earned $6.9 million in its opening weekend, including $3.5 million in South Korea, $2.1 million in Japan, and $600,000 in Indonesia.[54] In its second weekend, the film made $14.1 million from 22 markets. In Taiwan, the film opened with $2.8 million, making it the fourth-best opening of 2021 in the country.[55] In its third weekend, the film earned $13.4 million, including $1.6 million from Germany, where it debuted in second place at the box office.[56] The film made $10.2 million in its fourth weekend,[57] $6.2 million in its fifth,[58] $4.2 million in its sixth,[59] and $2.7 million in its seventh.[60]
The review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes reported an approval rating of 42% based on 173 reviews and 80% audience score. The site's critical consensus reads, "Ralph Fiennes' solid central performance in The King's Man is done dirty by this tonally confused prequel's descent into action thriller tedium."[61] On Metacritic, the film has a weighted average score of 44 out of 100, based on 40 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews".[62] Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "B+" on an A+ to F scale, while PostTrak reported 77% of audience members gave it a positive score, with 60% saying they would definitely recommend it.[45]
Steve Pulaski of Influx Magazine gave the film a "C-" letter-grade, calling it "the most ungentlemanly Kingsman movie yet."[63]
The King's Man began its For Your Consideration campaign in January 2022, hoping to obtain a nomination for Ben Davis for the Best Cinematography category.[64]
Matthew Vaughn stated that if a sequel were to be developed, he would like to see the story about the first decade of the Kingsman agency with all characters that the audience sees at the end. According to the Hollywood Reporter,[65] he said:
It's more if the public demands it. So the second The King's Man is nearly ready to go. Seeing Ralph [Fiennes] and Aaron [Taylor-Johnson] on a mission together with Polly (Gemma Arterton) and Shola (Djimon Hounsou)? I'm in! Those four together? Let's go! I think it would be great.
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