In 2014, "Ace Agent: Secret Agent Academy" made a magnificent appearance. It tells the story of a gentleman instructor in a mysterious secret service academy, dressed in a suit and holding a long-handled umbrella, who leads young students to fight violence and save the world with violence.
Dizzying action, with the unique cold temperament of the British gentleman, as well as the bloody stimulation of the super British theme, and the unexpected reversal... All make this film a classic in the hearts of the audience. So the sequel is also naturally filmed.
Although the lineup is still the same, even Uncle Collin, who plays the popular male second who is unfortunately "killed", has returned again with far-fetched reasons. However, the unsatisfactory plot, the villain's family-like conspiracy, and the arrangement to destroy the entire secret service organization at the first time still caused dissatisfaction among the audience.
The double pressure of ratings and word of mouth has led to the possibility of shooting a sequel to this classic IP that has made a good start. But the undead director has looked at the origin of the secret service organization, aimed at the distant Period of World War I, and by spoofing historical figures, stunned to piece together a "prequel" that seems to have antecedents and consequences with the original, but in fact has no connection at all.
Ace Agent: Origins
In 1902, the Duke of Oxford, England, with his wife and children and Red Cross supplies, visited General Kitchener, who was stationed in South Africa. It was supposed to be a friendly and peaceful journey, and the supplies they brought could also effectively solve the plight of the army, but a sudden assassination disrupted the calm, the duke's wife was unfortunately killed, and he himself was injured in one leg and disabled.
From then on, he remembered his wife's instructions before her death, stayed away from war and danger, and brought up his son Connor with hard work. Although the Duke taught Connor skills such as fighting and flying airplanes, he was not allowed to join the army and did not want him to participate in his career. I was afraid that he would make any mistakes, and he would be ashamed of his wife in the spirit of heaven.
It wasn't until the Duke came to the tailor's shop with his son and made a tailor-made suit for him that he met his old friend General Kitchener, whom he had not seen for many years. The general turned away and told the Duke about the latest situation and the troubles he had encountered.
It turned out that the Duke of Oxford's friend, the Crown Prince of Austria, Archduke Ferdinand, planned to visit here, and a terrible international terrorist organization targeted him, believing that if he was assassinated, he would successfully start a war. The general hoped that the Duke could persuade the Grand Duke to change his itinerary in order to avoid misfortune.
Although the Duke had no intention of getting involved in politics, out of concern for his friend Grand Duke Ferdinand, he agreed to the general's request and accompanied him throughout the Grand Duke's visit. At the same time, with the help of his son Connor, he successfully defused an assassination.
But ironically, they obviously changed their itinerary, but they still met the killer unexpectedly. The Grand Duke and his wife died tragically in front of the Duke's father and son, and after many years, the Duke, who once again faced death, finally realized that war and killing would not end because of anyone's evasion and concession, and the danger would always lurk in the darkness.
With the death of the Grand Duke, the war also began. To show his unwillingness to go to war, King George ordered the general to send his two cousins a picture of the three children, Kaiser Wilhelm II and Emperor Nicholas II of Russia.
At the same time, the leader of the terrorist organization, known as the "Shepherd", who secretly placed the detailed work next to the heads of state, also began to act. He first took command of it himself and blew up the ship on which General Kitchener was riding, leaving him buried in the sea.
He then instructed Rasputin, who was called a "demon monk", to drug nicholas II's young son, creating a vain "omen" that forced Russia to withdraw from the war and allow Germany and Britain to go to war in an all-out way.
At this point, the Duke of Oxford finally stopped standing idly by and decided to take his son Connor with him to work to save the world. It turned out that the Duke had been secretly in charge of an intelligence organization, and the maids and housekeepers in his family were also the elite of the organization, with eyeliner all over the world.
By investigating the Serbian killer who assassinated the Grand Duke, they learned that the members of the group would hold a ring with animal heads and poison in it, and that if the mission failed, the outlaws would take poison as a sign of loyalty to the Shepherds.
Intelligence officers in Russia reported that Rasputin had a similar ring on his hand, so the duke decided to rush to Russia with his able-bodied domestic servant and son Connor to meet the monk with magical powers around the Russian royal family.
Matthew Vaughn, director and screenwriter of "Ace Agent: Origins," is best at action films, whether it's the first two installments of the Ace Franchise, or "The Sea King", and "X-Men: First Battle", all have a strong personal style.
The action scenes, paired with cool pedaling music, whether it's a big fight or a gang fight, in Matthew Vaughn's work, it's like a fantasy game out of reality. He has created one bizarre "grey world" after another, where each character has a complex personality.
Whether it is magneto who is both good and evil, or super-killer who takes to the streets to fight violence with violence, or even the super agents who will stop at nothing to achieve their goals in the "Ace Agent" series... Matthew Vaughn never reads too much about good and evil, but his unique aesthetic of violence has become a classic in the minds of many fans.
But unfortunately, this time he did not continue his usual style, but chose to "spoof" historical figures in a way that tried to create a different "joke" than before. The play weaves the fictional character of the Duke of Oxford into a number of real historical events, including generals of Kitchener and Archduke Ferdinand.
Even in order to create laughter, directly let the acting actor Tom Holland play the three cousins of George V, William II and Nicholas II. However, it is not accepted by the audience, and the so-called "spoof" is only reduced to the director's "bad taste", which is not funny, but also attracts a lot of disgust.
Even with Ralph Fiennes, who has starred in the "Schindler's List" and "Harry Potter" series, Charles Dans, a British national treasure actor and participating in "Game of Thrones", and the royal actor of director Matthew Vaughan, Aaron Taylor-Johnson of "The Sea King", it is still difficult to recover its multi-time points, multiple branches, and too chaotic and complex narrative.
Whether it is the familiar violent gentleman or the Kingsman suit shop that serves as the starting point of the story, it seems to carry the origin of the entire series, but in a booing, it heralds the real end of "Ace Agent".
After all, when the cool film is not happy, whether it is a sequel or a prequel, there is no need to continue, isn't it?