A strong cast and vaguely intriguing prequel premise was not able to stop this one from lagging behind. The most vibrant element that is missing from this volume of the franchise was the fun. It seems a pretty glaring vacancy in the story and the viewing experience, but it isn’t the only lacking element.
While the other two and the source material are pseudo-hi-tech James Bond spy pastiches, this leans into a grinding pseudo-alternative history political spy-venture ala a poor man’s League of Extraordinary Gentlemen (the book, not that horrific film). Unfortunately, the interpretations of events and characters of history aren’t that fascinating or flamboyant (dancing/f*cking Rasputin and Tom Hollander’s triple monarch roles aside). Just a bit upper-crust dull, especially with the necessity to no longer highlight the ascension of the poor to power but rather highlight the wealthy and their exploitation of “the invisible help”.
The cast is quite fun (Hounsou Arterton, Ifans, Brühl, & Goode made me excited) and there are some stylized moments that are entertaining to the eye. Though even with a surprise death that I applaud the film for, there just isn’t enough here to go out of one’s way for.