Common Sense Media Review
By Jeffrey M. Anderson
,
based on child development research. How do we rate?
Violent, overlong "Kingsman" prequel is wildly inconsistent.
Parents Need to Know
Why Age 16+?
Any Positive Content?
Where to Watch
Videos and Photos
The King's Man
Parent and Kid Reviews
Based on 5 parent reviews
Based on 12 kid reviews
Kids say the movie has a mixed reception, with some viewers finding it boring and lacking the humor of its predecessors, while others appreciate its action, historical context, and strong visuals. Despite its notable violence and profanity, it features an engaging storyline and memorable characters that some viewers enjoyed, particularly those interested in history and action.
- mixed reception
- action scenes
- historical context
- strong visuals
- humor lacking
Summarized with AI
Summarized with AI
What's the Story?
THE KING'S MAN, which takes place before the events of Kingsman: The Secret Service and Kingsman: The Golden Circle and chronicles the origin of the Kingsman agency, begins in 1902 in South Africa. Duke Orlando Oxford (Ralph Fiennes) and his wife and young son, Conrad, travel there on a diplomatic mission, only to be ambushed. Orlando's leg is wounded, and his wife is killed. He agrees to her dying wish to keep their son away from violence forevermore. Years later, a mysterious villain assembles a crew of the most evil men on Earth, including Grigori "The Mad Monk" Rasputin (Rhys Ifans) and starts executing global plans to control WWI and rule the world. At home, a grown-up Conrad (Harris Dickinson) wants to enlist in the army, but Orlando encourages a more nonviolent approach: spying and trading information, with help from faithful assistants Shola (Djimon Hounsou) and Polly (Gemma Arterton), in an attempt to end the war. Of course, fights do happen, including a deadly showdown with the mastermind himself on top of an impossibly high, impossibly dangerous mountain plateau.
Is It Any Good?
Despite a clever, history-subverting idea and a few great action sequences, this overlong, mostly needless prequel flails all over the place, pretending to decry violence but actually thriving on it. Directed and co-written, like its predecessors, by Matthew Vaughn, the The King's Man story twists are actually cleverly silly, incorporating bits of history and swirling them around, Forrest Gump-style, into something new. For example, Tom Hollander plays King George, Kaiser Wilhelm, and Tsar Nicholas, who are all -- ahem -- cousins. Vladimir Lenin and Mata Hari also show up jn the mix, and Ifans' Rasputin is a totally unpredictable creation who lends some energy to the movie -- and especially to his balletic fight scene during a lavish Christmas ball.
The final showdown, with Orlando trying to parachute onto a plateau, becoming trapped in the wing of his plane, and then just missing the edge of the cliff, is a true white-knuckler, smoothly helmed by Vaughn. But that's a long ways into The King's Man. Too much of the movie's two-hour-plus running time veers into insincere attempts to drive home the nonviolence theme, including scenes of WWI that are simply not funny; instead -- as Peter Jackson's incredible They Shall Not Grow Old demonstrated -- they were really deadly serious. Not to mention the aftermath of those scenes, which fall into weepy pathos and creates a dead spot in the center of the movie. Ultimately, this film that's seemingly devoted to cleverness, action, and fun finally has too little of any of those to make it worth the effort.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about The King's Man's violence. How did it make you feel? Was it exciting? Shocking? What did the movie show or not show to achieve this effect? Why is that important?
How effective is the movie's message about nonviolence? How does it play out against the action shown on screen?
In what ways does the movie play around with history? How many names or places did you recognize? Did the movie inspire you to learn more?
How is drinking portrayed? In what situations do characters drink? Are there consequences for drinking? Why does that matter?
How does the movie fit in with the Kingsman franchise? In what ways does it expand on the story?
Movie Details
- In theaters : December 22, 2021
- On DVD or streaming : February 22, 2022
- Cast : Gemma Arterton , Ralph Fiennes , Djimon Hounsou
- Director : Matthew Vaughn
- Inclusion Information : Female Movie Actor(s) , Black Movie Actor(s)
- Studio : Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures
- Genre : Action/Adventure
- Run time : 131 minutes
- MPAA rating :
- MPAA explanation : sequences of strong/bloody violence, language, and some sexual material
- Last updated : October 9, 2025
Did we miss something on diversity?
Research shows a connection between kids' healthy self-esteem and positive portrayals in media. That's why we've added a new "Diverse Representations" section to our reviews that will be rolling out on an ongoing basis. You can help us help kids by
Suggest an Update
Common Sense Media's unbiased ratings are created by expert reviewers and aren't influenced by the product's creators or by any of our funders, affiliates, or partners.
See how we rate