BY CHRISTOPHER STAMM
GUEST MOVIE REVIEWER
The King’s Man
Rated R – for language, violence, and adult themes
Happy New Year, everyone, and welcome to 2022! Let’s all hope it’s better than the last two years!
The first film I have for you this year is The King’s Man, the prequel to the wildly successful Kingsman franchise, and I am here to tell you it lives up to the reputation of its franchise.
Seamlessly incorporating both historical figures [from King George to Grigori Rasputi] and historical events into its story line, The King’s Man is a ton of fun and a great popcorn movie to spend your day with while Mother Nature does her best to freeze us all to death.
The King’s Man cast is led by the always-reliable Ralph Fiennes and the Duke of Oxford and is filled out by some of the better character actors of our time, such as Gemma Arterton, Djimon Hounsou, and a almost unrecognizable Rhys Ifans as Grigori Rasputin, who steals every scene he is in.
One of the highlights is a sword fight between Rasputin and The Duke of Oxford, which incorporates Russian dance into the action … pure genius.
Again and as always, I will shy away from too much plot detail, as The King’s Man is a mystery along with an action comedy. Suffice to say, I really enjoyed this one, and it gets a solid four out of five stars from me for its excellent plot, fun and original action scenes, and excellent pacing. And, for the record, viewing of the previous films is not necessary for the enjoyment of this one.
It is well worth the price of admission.
On Dec. 31, the year 2021 gave us one final smackdown, as we were forced to say goodbye to America’s Grandmother, Betty White. The world is a little lesser for her being gone. Rest in peace, Betty. We all loved you.