"The King's Man" is well-photographed and well-acted. (As Alistair Cooke once marveled, how does an island nation produce so many great actors?) But only by deliberately doing so could anyone get the history so backward. Just a few examples, from the big things to the little: Great Britain blockaded Germany and drove its people to starvation during World War I; it was not the other way around. You did not have to twist Woodrow Wilson's arm to get him to join the war, he told an associate that he believed that Britain was fighting the Americans' war for them. Singing "Happy Birthday To You" had not yet caught on during World War I. People were still more likely to sing "For He's a Jolly Good Fellow" for many years afterward. That said, and bad justifications for war aside (War in general and that war in particular), the fight scenes are well-choreographed and Tom Hollander is wonderful in three roles.
Review of The King's Man
