As an unnecessary prequel designed to spawn a concurrent Kingsman series, The King’s Man is good enough to be watchable, but not to the point that it justifies its own existence. It’s like the store brand version of the first two movies, featuring action scenes that aren’t as exciting and characters that aren’t as magnetic (except for Rasputin (Rhys Ifans), who steals every scene). I give it credit for subverting expectations in two major ways, but the ending is so predictable that it somewhat undermines those efforts. Mostly though, it’s just a disappointment that lacks the spark of its predecessors.