REVIEW: King Arthur: Legend of the Sword May Not Live Up to the Legend
The legend of King Arthur and his sword, Excalibur is known by many. Countless stories have been told of the man who pulled the sword from the stone and took over the British throne. Director, Guy Ritchie is one of many who have tried to bring the legend to life. King Arthur: Legend of the Sword is a less romantic, more action-packed telling featuring a rock and roll playlist and a whole lot of CGI.
King Arthur: Legend of the Sword focuses on one storyline: getting Arthur to the throne. The basis is a familiar one, Arthur pulls Excalibur from the stone and must learn to wield it if he has any chance of defeating his Uncle Vortigern. Arthur has no ties to this blood relative who stole the throne from Arthur’s father and murdered his parents.
Nothing is introduced in the movie that distracts from Arthur’s path to be king. Every character introduced is used to propel the storyline, and Arthur’s journey. Charlie Hunnam leads as Arthur and has added a fun, sarcastic twist to the character, while Jude Law is the villain of the story, Vortigern. Law is strong as the inadequate, gone to seed King, still residing in his older brother’s shadow.
Rounding out the cast is Djimon Hounsou, Aidan Gillen, Craig McGinlay, Neil Maskell and Kingsley Ben-Adir, as members of Arthur’s team and future knights. Much isn’t learned about these men but there is hope for their characters to expand in potentially future films. Astrid Berges-Frisbey, who plays The Mage, is an interesting addition. Her accent is inconsistent throughout which has a tendency to become a nuisance in several scenes.
If you are a fan of Richie’s work this film is for you. The key components of his films: slow motion scenes, over the top action sequences, character sarcasm, etc., are used heavily in this movie and will constantly remind you this is a Guy Ritchie film.
The slow-motion scenes and some of the camera angles were a little too awkward during the action moments, but overall the cinematography was good.
If you have been wanting to see this movie since Warner Bros. announced they were making it all those years ago, go see it. If you think you may want to see it, but are unsure whether or not you want to see it in theaters, it is a good movie to see if you have nothing else to do. For everyone else, just wait to rent it or watch it on demand.
Grade: B-