Step backward compared to the predecessors. Tbh, I wouldn't be interested in seeing this film if it wasn't Kingsman entry. Maybe previous films spoiled me a bit but I didn't feel it as a Kingsman film. I didn't find the ww1 setting inspiring and I was not amused a one bit how the film plays out using real historical happenings (and characters, the latter I've found a bit off) for its narrative, but hey - creative freedom. The first half of the film is disjointed, unfocused (is it spy film, family drama, war film), scenes go back and fourth for the sake of moving the heavily predictable plot. Although there a few, npt-seen-it-coming twists here (one is quite egregious). I like Gemma Arterton here, but she always comes at the right time and saying or doing the right thing. Few of the characters have their quirks, but few really stand-out. Rasputin could have a bigger role and I admit I imagined Alan Moore while watching him. The villains' machinations are a bit outlandish for me, not his goal, but the means to achieve it. Future SNP supporter. I almost believed he's gonna be played by Robert Carlyle (mostly because of that Bond film he is in), but no, it was Ozymandias. And if Ralph Fiennes decide to follow the steps of Liam Neeson and does middle-aged man action roles, he's all set.
