MOVIE OF THE WEEK #2 (5/12/17): KING ARTHUR: LEGEND OF THE SWORD
 |
| "I live by the sword!" Arhtur (Charlie Hunnam) attempts to pull the legendary Excalibur in a scene from co-writer/director Guy Ritchie's action drama KING ARTHUR: LEGEND OF THE SWORD. Credit: © 2017 Warner Bros. Entertainment, Inc., Village Roadshow Films North America, Inc. and Ratpac-Dune Entertainment, LLC. U.S., Canada, Bahamas and Bermuda. |
KEY CAST MEMBERS: Charlie Hunnam, Jude Law, Eric Bana, Djimon Hounsou, Aidan Gillen, Astrid Bergéas-Frisbey, Neil Maskell, Kingsley Ben-Adir, Tom Wu and Annabelle Wallis
WRITER(S): Joby Harold, Lionel Wigram and Guy Ritchie (screenplay); David Dobkin and Joby Harold (story by)
DIRECTOR(S): Guy Ritchie
WEB SITE: http://kingarthurmovie.com
HERE'S THE STORY: The latest attempt by Hollywood at telling the story of the legendary man who would be king, King Arthur: Legend of the Sword stars Charlie Hunnam as the titular character. Instead of growing up to be the king he should have been instead, he was ushered off in a boat after his mother and father, King Uther Pendragon (Eric Bana), were murdered at the hand of Vortigen (Jude Law), Athur's power-hungry uncle who made the ultimate sacrifice in exchange for the throne.
But then, as fate would have it, Arthur is led to Vortigen's castle where he ends up seeing a legendary sword stuck in stone said to belong to the "Born King" that will one day rise up to lead the people. And then Arthur pulls it.
What follows is the story of a man who would become king and – since he never had the desire to become king – the origin of the phrase "heavy is the crown" ...
HERE'S THE STORY: The latest attempt by Hollywood at telling the story of the legendary man who would be king, King Arthur: Legend of the Sword stars Charlie Hunnam as the titular character. Instead of growing up to be the king he should have been instead, he was ushered off in a boat after his mother and father, King Uther Pendragon (Eric Bana), were murdered at the hand of Vortigen (Jude Law), Athur's power-hungry uncle who made the ultimate sacrifice in exchange for the throne.
But then, as fate would have it, Arthur is led to Vortigen's castle where he ends up seeing a legendary sword stuck in stone said to belong to the "Born King" that will one day rise up to lead the people. And then Arthur pulls it.
What follows is the story of a man who would become king and – since he never had the desire to become king – the origin of the phrase "heavy is the crown" ...
WHO WILL LIKE THIS FILM THE MOST? Charlie Hunnam fans; people who have never really cared for any of the other King Arthur films; those who will pleasantly surprised by the strong performances of the film's cast.
WHO WON'T (OR SHOULDN'T) LIKE THIS MOVIE? Those looking for a more true-to-the-legend telling of King Arthur; those who won't like so much of the special effects-heavy, science fiction/mystic storytelling; those who will be left wanting more from the film's final sword fight
SO, IS IT GOOD, BAD OR ABSOLUTELY AWFUL? A film that is more entertaining than one might expect, King Arthur: Legend of the Sword isn't quite legendary, but it is a solid entertaining film carried by its cast's dedication to their task.
Hunnam does a commendable job as Arthur, blending a nice undercurrent of hero-who-doesn't-want-to-be-one with charm, sensibility and just enough strength to be believable in the role. There's no over-the-top catchphrases to deal with, no reliance on ridiculous machismo to sell the character and he's not so brooding because of his upbringing that the character becomes a caricature.
What really helps to make the film work – unless you will be upset by the infusion of science fiction/magic into the story – as well as it does are the performance of the supporting cast around Hunnam. Whereas Astrid Bergéas-Frisbey delivers a very haunting performance as a Mage, a human (?) that can communicate with animals in many ways, Tom Wu, Neil Maskell, Aiden Gillen and Djimon Honsou shine as the men who will help Arthur on his journey. Law for his part is even on his game as the moral-less Vortigen, delivering a villainous performance without any of the stereotypical trappings of a man in his position.
While there are some things that will draw its fair share of detractors – the abundance of special effects, the straying from the certain parts of the legend, the lack of romance (not a complaint from yours truly, for the record) and the anti-climatic climatic final battle – Legend of the Sword does provide what it sets out to provide: An entertaining tale of a hero who has to learn how to be the hero he never wanted to be nor knew he was destined to become. While it lacks a quality to make it a classic adventure, it has enough moxie and mettle to deliver on its premise.
So, in an age when many films live and die by the sword, King Arthur proves it has plenty of fight in it to keep thins moving.
SO, IS IT GOOD, BAD OR ABSOLUTELY AWFUL? A film that is more entertaining than one might expect, King Arthur: Legend of the Sword isn't quite legendary, but it is a solid entertaining film carried by its cast's dedication to their task.
Hunnam does a commendable job as Arthur, blending a nice undercurrent of hero-who-doesn't-want-to-be-one with charm, sensibility and just enough strength to be believable in the role. There's no over-the-top catchphrases to deal with, no reliance on ridiculous machismo to sell the character and he's not so brooding because of his upbringing that the character becomes a caricature.
What really helps to make the film work – unless you will be upset by the infusion of science fiction/magic into the story – as well as it does are the performance of the supporting cast around Hunnam. Whereas Astrid Bergéas-Frisbey delivers a very haunting performance as a Mage, a human (?) that can communicate with animals in many ways, Tom Wu, Neil Maskell, Aiden Gillen and Djimon Honsou shine as the men who will help Arthur on his journey. Law for his part is even on his game as the moral-less Vortigen, delivering a villainous performance without any of the stereotypical trappings of a man in his position.
While there are some things that will draw its fair share of detractors – the abundance of special effects, the straying from the certain parts of the legend, the lack of romance (not a complaint from yours truly, for the record) and the anti-climatic climatic final battle – Legend of the Sword does provide what it sets out to provide: An entertaining tale of a hero who has to learn how to be the hero he never wanted to be nor knew he was destined to become. While it lacks a quality to make it a classic adventure, it has enough moxie and mettle to deliver on its premise.
So, in an age when many films live and die by the sword, King Arthur proves it has plenty of fight in it to keep thins moving.
OVERALL RATING (OUT OF FOUR POSSIBLE BUCKETS OF POPCORN):
Comments
Post a Comment