If you’ve been following my writing here at Filmbunker at all, you will know I have a firm affection for spy flicks, be they of the goofy variety like Spy, the action-heavy Mission Impossible franchise or the classic Bond films. I grew up on spy flicks, but from 2006-2014 I experienced a kind of drought for this content, so when Kingsman: The Secret Service hit screens I was pumped. It was everything I had missed for so long, not entirely goofy but not completely serious either, and the film was a blast of fresh air! The 2017 sequel though, Kingsman: The Golden Circle…well, the less said about that the better. Let down by The Golden Circle, The Kingsman franchise was left in a weird space, and I was left with mixed feelings. So, what to do to fix the problem? Make a prequel, we know that makes everything better right? For once, though merely judging from the teaser trailer, this strategy may work.
This is a teaser trailer, so of course we aren’t granted much in terms of plot; we are just treated to visuals, setting and vague introductions to some of the characters we will be spending our time with. This style of the teaser is akin to a mood board, presenting us with quick snippets of the film accompanied by a monologue from Ralph Fiennes. This tried and true trailer style lends itself well here, with tension and hype building throughout the minute forty run time. The trailer seems to follow three separate threads, scenes of the first world war are spread through the trailer accompanied by shots of what seem to be an interesting and stylised group of fun villains, and of a new recruit to the Kingsman in a few familiar settings. The few shots we get of the villains look very interesting, just from their costuming alone they seem to be walking a thin line between hyper stylised and super goofy looking, it will be interesting to see how they come off in the final product. Ralph Fiennes is of course perfect casting. By default, the man makes anything hes in better.
Overall, what the trailer seems to be trying to achieve is to set up what this film is going to feel like (remember the mood board analogy), showing us a slightly more period-appropriate style for this film. I feel the trailer succeeds in it’s goal. Though I’m sure we will still receive plenty of what made Kingsman: The Secret Service so enjoyable, this trailer wants to show us that The King’s Man is not just a complete retread.
As teaser trailers go, this is a strong one. We meet our characters, see what this world looks like and get a strong feeling for the film’s style and tone. You can’t really ask for much more than that at this point. In my humble opinion, this could have gone terribly, but with interesting casting and a mild shakeup of the overall Kingsman formula, so far The King’s Man is looking promising. My one lingering concern is that we seem to be receiving ‘the recruit’ story line again, and if this isn’t handled delicately it could feel like a rehash of the first film. However, I truly am hoping this is a return to form for the franchise that I so loved back when it began in 2014. Whether the prequel gamble works out, we will just have to wait and see on opening day.
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