Movie review
December 22, 2021 · 131 min · R
Woke Score
Lower is better
Review
The King's Man is a 2021 spy action prequel to the Kingsman series directed by Matthew Vaughn. It follows a British aristocrat who builds a secret intelligence network during World War I to stop a cabal of tyrants and criminals from engineering global war. Brief references to colonial history in the Boer War and anti-war sentiments appear as personal backstory for the lead character, but these stay secondary to the energetic action, father-son drama, and heroic British spy origin story.
Breakdown
These are the editorial factors and ratings behind our score for The King's Man.
Woke representation / casting
Casting uses predominantly white British and European actors that fit the early 20th-century European historical setting and real figures portrayed; no race or gender swaps, no visible diversity quotas, and no marketing emphasis on representation.
Woke political dialogue
Includes pacifist views and criticism of elites sending young men to die in wars started by old rivalries, presented as character motivation and plot setup rather than modern activist lectures.
Identity-driven story themes
The core story focuses on family protection, duty, and stopping tyrants in a historical context with zero emphasis on race, gender, sexuality, or identity as central drivers or moral points.
Western institutional / cultural critique
Mild anti-war and anti-authority notes appear through a lens that celebrates heroic individual action and British resilience; it does not frame Western institutions, patriarchy, or history as systemically oppressive in activist style.
Woke character or canon changes
Historical figures and WWI events are fictionalized into a conspiracy for entertainment; no ideological rewrites of source material or real history to advance contemporary agendas.
Anti-woke backlash and complaints
A few online comments accused the film of lefty anti-war or anti-empire propaganda; no broad or prominent accusations of pushing DEI, identity politics, or woke messaging.
Creator track record context
Key creatives show low engagement with identity or social-justice issues overall, with public statements from one writer explicitly noting audience rejection of woke content.
Production
