Though I should watch it in theatres, I haven't watched the others in theatres, so I will probably wait until it comes out on DVD. Have heard mixed reactions to it though.
I DID, however, go see the King's Man last night!
The King's Man (2021):
A film I've been waiting for since 2017 (was supposed to release in 2019), we finally go our prequel to the, "spy genre-flipped-on-its-head," series, Kingsman
1902, in South Africa, two representatives of the Red Cross, the Duke of Oxford (Ralph Fiennes), his son, Conrad and his wife, are travelling to a POW/Slave/Concentration camp, in order to meet with the general stationed there, General Kitchener. While there, the Duke's wife is shot by a sniper, who then gets killed by the black servant of the Duke (who, despite being black and a butler of sorts, is treated throughout the entire film as a member of the family), seconds after firing that fatal shot. Conrad witnesses this and the Duke's wife makes the Duke promise to not let Conrad see or experience war in his lifetime. We then fast-forward 12 years later and it is WWI, where Conrad desperately wishes to enlist for his country.
Not going to say anymore due to spoilers, as the backdrop of WWI provides a great setting, however I will say that the film is ABSOLUTELY clunky and a bit all-over-the-place, in the first act (IMO, they try to setup the background of WWI and to those of us that know the facts, timeline and history of the war, it made it a bit plodding, sadly). The second act, there is a bit more-focus on things and much more cohesion, while the third act is just brilliant, definitely the most-enjoyable portion of the film (the last 45 minutes or so). Fiennes is fantastic, with the only real issues (I find) being that he is LOUD during fight scenes lol. The supporting cast does an excellent job and the way they navigated WWI and slightly altered history (ala Inglorious Basterds, albeit not as much), was done quite-well. I figured out the main villain within the first 20 minutes of the film, so they could definitely stand to get the writing a bit better for any sequels. The callbacks to the 2 previous films is fantastic and the way they were woven into the plot/script without shoehorning, was brilliant and well-done.
As with the other 2 films in the series, there is a MASSIVE shock that happens around the midpoint of the film and it completely took my wife and I by surprise (and films RARELY catch me off-guard lol), but unlike the 2 modern films, there is a GREAT sequel hook during the credits (which I also called within seconds lol) and I cannot wait to see what direction they go.
8.5/10