ScreenFish

where faith and film are intertwined

Matthew Goode

The King’s Man: Rewriting History with a Twist

You know Merlin and Roxy and Spencer and Harry, Arthur, and Arnold and Charlie and Eggsy? But do you recall the most famous?King?s Man?of all?

Written and directed by Matthew Vaughn, The King?s Man?begins in the early 20th Century and follows the journey of Orlando Oxford (Ralph Fiennes), an English gentleman who has walked away from his life as a highly trained military officer. After his wife?s death, Orlando has dedicated his life to helping others and caring for his son, Conrad (Harris Dickerson). However, when a collection of history?s greatest villains band together in order to initiate a war that will tear the world apart, Orlando and Conrad differ in their views of how to get involved, causing tension within the home. As history unfolds before them, the global terror requires the development of the very first independent intelligence agency, which they call ?The King?s Man?.

As a prequel/partial reboot of the?Kingsmen?franchise,?The King?s Man?is a somewhat surprising entry into the genre. Set as several decades prior to the previous films,?King?s Man?uses world history as a backdrop. In this way, the film takes a page out of the rebooted X-Men franchise by allowing its adventures to change the way that we understand the past by adding larger, more sinister elements. (This makes even more sense when one considers that writer/director Matthew Vaughn also directed X-Men: First Class.) Using moments such as the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand, the Russian revolution and America’s intention to stay out of World War I as touch points, history is given a twist of fun and silliness and that is often a good thing. In doing so, Vaughn takes the familiar stories that we were taught in school but alters them just enough to make them seem new and exciting. Quite simply, there is something joyful about revisiting (and rewriting) history and Vaughn is clearly enjoying himself here.

At the same time though, the argument could also be made that there is simply too much happening within the film. As much as it pains me to admit it,?King?s Man?might have been even more successful as a series on Disney+ as opposed to a two-and-a-half-hour film. Within?King?s Man, there is a great deal of character development that takes place during its runtime (including one genuinely shocking moment, which will not be spoiled here). However, because of its time constraints, the moments lack the impact they could have had. Given the amount of storytelling that Vaughn wants to include in the film, an 8-10 episode limited series might have been a better decision. While King’s Man is undoubtedly fun, one can?t help but believe that it feels rushed and the storytelling suffers because of it.?

Vaughn still has a love for this world of this franchise and approaches this entry with enthusiasm. As a result of its style and bravado,?King?s Man?is often visually stunning, especially through its action set pieces. Fight scenes are met with similar grit and over-the-top amusement to previous films. Musical barrages of classical music help give battle sequences an element of fun and enthusiasm. Vaughn has always enjoyed allowing his creativity to fly and he continues to do so here. (In particular, battle sequences with Rasputin and a daring rescue at the Front are particularly memorable.)?Blending blood splatters and pop style,?King?s Man?wants us to understand that there?s a madness to Vaughn?s method.

It?s worth noting as well that Vaughn continues to lean into the R-rating that has defined the franchise. While there is definitely less blood and gore here than other entries, there is enough language and disturbing thematic content to justify the rating. (For example, revelations surrounding Rasputin?s sexuality are particularly dark.)

Having said this though, one thing that truly sets?King?s Man?apart from its cinematic cousins is its almost apologetic view of violence. Similar to Vaughn?s?Kick Ass?franchise, the world of?The Kingsman?films loves a good kill. This is a franchise that has become synonymous with rock ?n? roll bloody murder. However, this film attempts to set itself apart from other entries into the canon by giving the series an element of remorse for its wanton violence.

In many ways, while this film eventually does succumb to its more natural devices, there is a distinct sense that it also recognizes the irony.?For example, while Orlando has all the skills to be an incredible killer (and has often done so), he remains committed to his newfound pacifism. Still mourning the loss of his wife, Orlando wants to protect his son from the grotesqueness of war at all costs and refuses to enter the fray when called upon. What?s most interesting about this though is that, while the film obviously eventually calls him into action, it never judges him for his commitment to life. While those in the military openly suggest that war is ?not about giving your life for your country but rather demanding that the other country give up their lives for their own?, his passivism is held in stark contrast to the warmongering effort. There is a very real sense within?King?s Man?of the tragedy of violence and war and the emotional scars that it takes on a person?s soul. In fact, in an unexpected admission of the suffering incurred by those who engage in battle, Orlando openly admits that each life that he takes steals a piece of his own. While it?s not uncommon for action films to contain a character who?s wary about committing acts of violence, what makes it shocking is the fact that it comes from this particular series. (Of course, therein also lies the irony of the film. After all of these admissions about the effects of violence,?King?s Man?also leans into the wild celebration of it as well.)

Visually stunning and surprisingly soulful in moments, Vaughn?s?The King?s Man?is a welcome re-entry into the world that he created. Underneath all the wild antics, there?s a genuine question taking place taking place within this film about the revelry of war and the value of the human soul.

However, if Vaughn wants to rewrite history, one simply wishes that he had taken more time to tell his tale.

The King?s Man is available in theatres on Friday, December 17th, 2021.

Self/Less: It’s Got Soul

self:lessI was hooked by the concepts of?Self/Less?after one look at the trailer. Ben Kingsley’s Damian wants to extend his earthly life, so he buys a spot in a shadowy scientific experiment where his consciousness will be transplanted into another body. He thinks he’s buying a newly cloned figure but what he gets is instead the body of Iraq veteran Mark Hale (Ryan Reynolds), and Hale’s consciousness hasn’t completely vacated the premises. When Damian’s dormant sense of morality surfaces, it draws him into direct confrontation with Dr. Albright (Matthew Goode) and his lethal henchmen. Will the pursuit of immortality and financial wealth be everything Damian hoped for?

(Short answer: Of course not.)

To be fair to Damian pre-“shedding” (the film’s verb for the the transplanting personality process), he thinks that his decision is his and his alone. He thinks that no one else is being affected, that no one is getting hurt. But it’s his awareness that there is?collateral damage (repeat to oneself: “there are no victimless crimes) that drives him to track down the origin of the images of his head, that is, Mark’s wife?(Natalie Martinez) and daughter.

Now, we have two sets of memories or personality/experiences competing in the same mind, two men who made bad decisions because they were thinking only of what they needed or thought was best. The plot holes might be big enough to drive through like, what’s the science behind the transplanting? What do we know about how the conscious works (what makes a person – a soul, body, mind, character, etc.?) Why is there never any surveillance video when someone breaks in somewhere? How does Hale’s muscle memory work? Can a man’s chin really break a toilet bowl? But I digress…

The fact is Albright offers Damian immortality. He’s like the devil tempting Jesus in the wilderness, only Damian isn’t Jesus. The ability to buy, purchase, steal, overwhelm – those are the ways he’s succeeded in life. It’s why he can’t relate to his daughter, but he?can?buy himself a new body. It’s the slippery slope that his pleasure and his pain drives him to, regardless of what questions he should be asking and doesn’t, a point Albright is quick to point out later.

The remaining two-thirds of the film (after Damian/Hale break out of Albright’s approved behavioral pattern) are an all-out action chase that is pretty standard for “fish out of water people on the run.” Nothing there is really going to blow your mind from a chase perspective?but… it’s the theological/social/moral issues that really drive the film to be of any interest.

self:less3In general, the average human being seems pretty afraid to die, so prolonging our lives has definite attraction, right? This may depend on how old you are, and how “at your peak” you feel that you are. [An older person I saw the film with asked, “who wants to live forever anyway?” The way you answer that may also depend on how you feel about what happens after we die!]

For most of us, we take vitamins, work out, try various diets/meditations/practices to be healthier, usually not because we really want to but because we’re told it will help us live longer. You’ve heard that “everyone wants to go to heaven but no one wants to die,” but I’d argue that few people would acknowledge wanting to die. And yet… there are apparent physical consequences to extending one’s life in the context of the movie, but there are social/moral/psychological ones as well, like…

… Damian has to pump himself with pills to mask Hale’s personality. Taking pills that are not too dissimilar to the pills he takes to fight cancer.

…Damian may have upgraded his body from Kingsley to Reynolds (wrinkly to six-pack?) but he is still estranged from his daughter, and he doesn’t understand her value system.

…Damian recognizes that doing it more (drinking, spending, sex) doesn’t make it better when it’s not in relationship. He’s still alone, and his life is a waste.

self:less 2But the truth about?Self/Less, while it’s a warning about exploitation, power, greed, and corruption, it’s also a story about second chances, and finding yourself. Like Scrooge after his visit by the four ghosts [Editor’s note: Check out A Christmas Carol;?Marley, Christmas Past, Christmas Present, and Christmas Future), Damian’s ability to see life from someone else’s perspective, including their pain and loss, let’s him see what he’s been missing and what he has messed up. Damian realizes that more of him means less of Hale, and vice versa. When he decides to lay his life down, to defend Hale’s family, it changes things, and in the process, he saves the part of himself that Albright can’t help him with: his soul.

Self/Less?might be a dismissible tale, too insightful to be mindless entertainment and not original enough in stunts and violence to make the mainstream truly happy. It’s something of a modern day parable, a la?Minority Report?or?I Am Legend. It might not be great, but it’s got soul.