It’s been a year since the origin story for Matthew Vaughn’s Kingsman features was released, but I finally watched it just yesterday.  It has the same formula of highly-orchestrated action sequences and ribald profanity that made the other two so startling, and this one purports to show just how the Kingsman organization came to be in jolly old England during the time of World War I.  If you liked the others, you’ll probably enjoy this one, which is largely more of the same.

Matthew Vaughn’s adventure is a melange of historical figures, situations and strategies jumbled into a new mysterious cabal promoting war on a global level.  The main foes are England and Germany, with Russia an important player.  In fact, the most important character once the plot gets rolling is Rasputin (Rhys Ifans), a man with mysterious powers and motives that I couldn’t always follow.  Anyway, the Brits form a unit to fight the warmongering cabal, a group that includes Mata Hari (Valerie Pachner) and Erik Jan Hanussen (Daniel Brühl) and others besides Rasputin.  Lots of action punctuates the punchy story, which has solid moments of drama and more than a little comedy.

This was rather hit and miss for me, partly because I do not know the history of that era well at all, so various references are lost on me, and partly because the story shifts its focus so much that I had trouble following the motivations of the bad guys.  Also, Rasputin is a major figure in the story, Hanussen and Mata Hari much less so.  The focus, of course, is on the King’s Men (and woman), and they are ably portrayed by Ralph Fiennes, Harris Dickinson, Djimon Hounsou and Gemma Arterton.  They make an enjoyable team.  But so much of the story pits father against son that when the inevitable occurs it is less dramatic than poignant.

As I said before, if you enjoyed (or could stomach) the first two Kingsman tales, you’re bound to enjoy this one.  The action is certainly flamboyant and stylized, from sword fighting to sword fight dancing, from assassinations to purposeful plane crashes.  Ralph Fiennes is onscreen an overwhelming amount of time, and as good as he is, I think the story should have moved other characters into the spotlight from time to time.  It’s okay, but not great.  ☆ ☆ 1/2.  27 December 2022.