YMMV / The King's Man

• Aluminum Christmas Trees:
  • The monarchs of the UK, Germany and Russia looking similar enough to be played by the same actor might strike viewers as an anvilicious way of showing WWI as a huge family squabble, but the truth is that at least George and Nicholas did indeed look so much alike they could pass as twins.◊ George was first cousin to both Nicholas and Wilhelm, and the latter two were third cousins. Hence the uncanny resemblance is just, y'know, canny.
  • Germany really did propose an alliance with Mexico in order to keep the United States out of World War 1. Making the Zimmerman Telegram public was also a very difficult task, though not because of an international cabal of weirdos. The British needed it to be made public in a way that didn't let the Germans know the former had cracked the latter's cyphers.
  • The German government actually did release Lenin into an ailing Russia to foment civil war and revolution, even if, again it wasn't at the behest of a shadowy cabal of international supervillains.
• Awesome Music:
  • This orchestral piece in the teaser trailer: Xap's "The Hit House." It works well with the Mickey Mousing in action sequences, whether it's a line of soldiers being gunned down by rifle fire, sword fights or the final chanting montage at the end.
  • "War Pigs" by Black Sabbath which was used in the official trailer. The lyrics from the first stanza perfectly fit the scenes shown in the trailer, and it keeps the trend of using awesome rock songs in the Kingsman franchise going.
  • The instrumental cover of The Temptations and Edwin Starr's "War" in the final trailer. Not only does it fit the theme of fighting to stop War for Fun and Profit, but it is synced very well with dramatic and action-heavy shots that were picked for the trailer.
• Broken Aesop: The film is inconsistent with regards to its message. On one hand, war is an atrocity and young men are forced to kill each other for the rich and powerful, and pacifism is a principled stand against this pointless slaughter. On the other hand, winning a war is glorious and the young men did not die in vain, and pacifism is merely a condition one must overcome in order to get back to saving the world by killing the Bad Guys.
  • However, one could read the Aesop as “Pacifism is a noble goal, but if you need to fight and get your hands dirty, fight against the right people to prevent further bloodshed - don’t take the lives of those who are just pawns in a larger conflict.” This would make a good deal more sense as Orlando (a pacifist who must “overcome” his pacifism) is the first to point out that they need to kill Rasputin to try and end the war and prevent further bloodshed. Orlando even points out that his disillusionment with war came from his killing of random foot soldiers in Afghanistan - men who are simply fighting for a cause under leaders who are the ones actually pulling the strings.
• Catharsis Factor:
  • After how horrible the Shepherd/Morton was for all the things he did, specifically starting the war and in part, causing Conrad's death, seeing Orlando drop him off the cliff to his death is pretty satisfying. Even better is the same goat that he mistreated earlier impaling him through the leg with its horn. Seeing him crash into the stony ground in a comically large puff of smoke, dirt, and stone is also pretty satisfying.
  • It's also a relief when Rasputin—brute that he is—gets killed by Polly as well.
• Complete Monster:
  • Captain Maximilian Morton, aka "the Shepherd", is the spearhead of the conspirators called "the Flock" that kick-start World War I. Wanting to punish England on behalf of Scotland, Morton uses his co-conspirators—who he has spread around the world and who he also horribly mistreats, insisting they be ready with cyanide when compromised—to first have Archduke Franz Ferdinand assassinated and then coaxes England, Germany, and Russia to start fighting each other. Morton also fakes his death by having the ship of his boss Herbert Kitchener blown up with everybody on board. Numerous soldiers on each side end up killed in the war as well, including Duke Orlando Oxford's son Conrad. Morton also wants to arrange for Russia to pull out so Germany will focus all its resources on England instead. Morton also blackmails US President Woodrow Wilson to keep America out of the war, and when confronted by Orlando, Morton insists they duel honorably, only to try to kill him with a concealed pistol instead.
  • Erik Jan Hanussen, aka "the Dog", is a wealthy sociopath who serves as Kaiser Wilhelm's scheming advisor. After joining the Flock, Hanussen manipulates the Kaiser into starting World War I and helps the Shepherd plunge Europe, including his own country, into one of the worst conflicts in human history, costing millions upon millions of lives. Later, Hanussen plots to more easily starve Britain to death with a blockade by attempting to have Mexico invade America, starting a new war which would keep the United States too busy to intervene. After becoming the new Shepherd, Hanussen recruits Adolf Hitler to the Flock, having him force Wilhelm to abdicate then sending him to execute the entire Russian monarchy, including the children, planning to put Hitler into power and start a new global war alongside him and Vladimir Lenin.
  • Grigori Rasputin, aka "the Tortoise", is a Russian mystic with an ill and unpleasant temper who's deeply involved in the World War I conspiracy as well. Unlike the others in the Flock, Rasputin even shows clear disrespect to the Shepherd, only falling in line under the threat of death. Using his influence on Tzar Nicholas, Rasputin regularly warns of hexes and curses that will befall the latter's family if he doesn't submit to his whims, and on one particular occasion, fulfills a specific part of the plan by poisoning the Tzar's young son in order to manipulate Russia out of the war. When confronted and nearly assassinated by Orlando, Conrad, and Shola, Rasputin nearly succeeds in killing them all.
• Critical Dissonance: The critical reception of the film is negative, receiving an aggregate score of 42% on Rotten Tomatoes. The audience reception is much higher at 79%.
• Ensemble Dark Horse: Most of the professional reviews (and quite a few of the non-professional ones) claim Rasputin as the best part of the film and find it a shame he's ultimately a Starter Villain.
• Evil Is Cool: Rasputin. Rhys Ifans does a fantastic job as the feared monk, to the point where many wished he was the main villain.
• Fan-Disliked Explanation: Critics and audiences were rather underwhelmed by The Shepherd's - aka Captain Morton's - reason for wanting to destroy England: He's a Scotsman who hates what England did to his country, plus how English aristocrats stole his family mill, and he wants to pay them back. While that's not to say that a vengeful Scot isn't an interesting plot device, the manner in which the film addresses it is half-baked and somewhat brushed over, since we never see how exactly he assembled an international coalition of supervillains and bent them all to his unquestioned will. Some have stated that an Irish nationalist would be a more understandable villain, not least because Ireland did gain independence shortly following (and arguably as a result of) World War I.
• Hilarious in Hindsight: It can be amusing to realize that the two members of the Flock who survive and meet Hitler are played by Daniel Brühl and August Diehl, who you might recall from a certain film where they both played Nazi villains (Frederick Zoller and Major Dieter Hellstrom, respectively). It's enough to make you wonder if the Basterds would have been Statesmen!
• Narm: "World War I movie sequel-baits Adolf Hitler" is usually supposed to be a joke making fun of franchises and Sequel Hooks, but The King's Man unironically does this in The Stinger complete with dramatic sting.
• Narm Charm:
  • The entire historical conspiracy is ridiculous but somehow intriguing.
  • Basically everything concerning Rasputin. His dialogue, mannerisms, and appearance are equal parts silly and downright terrifying thanks to the sheer amount of effort Rhys Ifans puts into playing the role. In any other performance, the antagonist announcing "Time to dance... on your graves" before busting into dance fighting set to the 1812 Overture would be pure Narm but Ifans makes everything come together. It doesn't hurt that the fight choreography is genuinely impressive and incorporates Rasputin's dancing in unique ways.
• Nightmare Fuel:
  • The shot of charging British troops being machine-gunned in No Man's Land, one after the other. A survivor from this group falls to his knees for a couple of seconds, before being finished off with a headshot. In one simple scene, it highlights the brutal reality of war.
  • The silent, nighttime knife fight between the German and British soldiers in No Man's Land, along with the pulse-pounding music that accompanies it. Both sides do not hesitate to brutally kill their enemies, with several of their deaths deserving special mentions:
    • A British soldier has his left ankle smashed by a German soldier's hammer. He can only scream in pain until the German silences him with another hammer blow to the face.
    • Another British soldier is overwhelmed by two Germans and is stabbed over and over, futilely reaching out to Conrad for help.
    • The British commanding officer helps a cornered Conrad by shooting the German approaching him. But this alerts both the British and German forces, who unleash Gatling gun fire on the battlefield. Conrad can only shout a Big "NO!" as the British commanding officer and his German opponent get bloodily shot several times, before their limp bodies fall.
  • Conrad's unexpected death. One minute, he ran through a battlefield while carrying an injured British spy. The next, he's confronted by a fellow soldier for impersonating Archie, which ends with him being suddenly shot in the head due to a misunderstanding. We then see Conrad's body fall in slow-motion, with his eyes rolling back as he hits the floor. This not only hammers home the futility of war, but also the disturbing ease to die in a place like this.
• Shocking Moments: Many people were left speechless by Conrad's death in the second act, both in concept and execution. They thought that Conrad would follow in his father's pacifist footsteps after witnessing the horrors of war. Instead, he's abruptly shot by a fellow British soldier who mistook him for a German spy. It also serves as a dark(er) mirror of Harry's death in the first film, with the learner/son in the film's central mentoring relationship being the one to die instead of the mentor/father figure.
• Squick: Rasputin is this in the form of a character between his innuendos and deviancy. There's also the scene where, after eating a cyanide laced tart, he just casually projectile vomits and then continues on with his evening as if he had just accidentally broken wind.
• Spiritual Licensee: Historical Domain Characters? Check. Dueling secret societies? Check. Gadgets? Check. Been There, Shaped History? Check. Assasinations? Check. Best Assassin's Creed movie yet.
• Tear Jerker:
  • The death of Conrad's mother in the opening scene. The Duke has already crawled to his wife's side despite having been shot through the leg, and quickly removes his jacket and covers her up as Conrad runs towards them to spare the boy from having to see his mother's lifeless face. He then embraces his son, holding him close in an utterly gut-wrenching moment.
  • After jumping into a ditch to avoid the British and Germans firing upon him, Conrad quietly laughs over his survival, before quickly sobbing over the loss of his fellow soldiers. Even when he does find out that the British spy he's looking for is currently hiding in the same place as him, his crying doesn't end, as he confesses a bitter truth.
    Conrad: I thought... I thought I knew what I wanted. My father warned me. My father warned me. I... I didn't listen... and now it all makes sense. I didn't even get to say goodbye.
  • Conrad's death and the depression that Orlando suffers from after it. Upon hearing the news from Archie, Orlando's reduced to a sobbing mess hugging a photograph of his son, alternating between looking at the portrait of his wife in shame over his failure to keep his promise to her and crying for Polly to comfort him. During this moment, Shola can only watch with teary eyes.
  • The aftermath of the final battle. Yes, Orlando has finally taken out the mastermind behind World War I, along with all his cronies. But the way Orlando solemnly kisses Conrad's Victoria Cross medal shows that no amount of slain enemies will ever bring back his son.

---