The King's Man (2021)

The King’s Man (2021), a spy action film directed by Matthew Vaughn, is the third installment in the British Kingsman franchise. Based on the comic book The Secret Service, it serves as a prequel to Kingsman: The Secret Service and Kingsman: The Golden Circle. Set in 1902 during the Second Boer War, British aristocrat Orlando, Duke of Oxford, and his family visit a refugee camp in South Africa while working for the British Red Cross. Tragically, Orlando’s wife Emily is fatally wounded in a sniper attack on the camp and makes her husband promise to keep their son away from war. Twelve years later, Orlando has created a private spy network consisting of domestic servants (including his own servants Shola and Polly Wilkins) employed by influential figures around the world. This network’s primary mission is to protect the United Kingdom and the British Empire from any threats.

Conrad’s eagerness to fight is met with Orlando’s disapproval. Despite Conrad’s attempts to join the British Army, Orlando convinces Lord Kitchener, Secretary of State for War, to deny him entry. In a twist of fate, Conrad and Orlando end up riding alongside Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria and his wife Sophie, Duchess of Hohenberg in Sarajevo at Kitchener’s request. It is during this ride that Conrad becomes a hero by saving the Archduke from a bomb thrown by Gavrilo Princip, a Serbian terrorist with intentions to incite war. However, as the story unfolds, Princip later encounters the Archduke again and tragically kills both him and his wife. The shocking truth comes out that the assassination was orchestrated by “The Flock”, a group aiming to pit the German, Russian, and British empires against each other. This elusive organization is led by a mysterious figure known as “The Shepherd” whose main goal is Scottish independence. Amongst The Shepherd’s operatives is Russian mystic Grigori Rasputin, who holds great influence over Tsar Nicholas of Russia.