KING ARTHUR: LEGEND OF THE SWORD – Review

Director Guy Ritchie’s flashy take on the classic Excalibur legend is super-charged, pop Hollywood filmmaking, entertaining enough while it unspools but ultimately empty and somewhat forgettable. KING ARTHUR: LEGEND OF THE SWORD traces Arthur’s journey from the streets to the throne. As a child, Arthur’s father Uther Pendragon (Eric Bana) is murdered, so his uncle Vortigern (Jude Law) seizes the crown. Robbed of his birthright and with no idea who he truly is, Arthur grows up the hard way in the back alleys and brothels of the city. As an adult he’s played by Charlie Hunnam, and once he extracts the mythic Excalibur from the stone, he is forced to confront his true legacy…and focus on his revenge against Vortigern.

KING ARTHUR: LEGEND OF THE SWORD is not the massive failure I expected going in. It’s armed with a couple of stand-out supporting performances and Guy Ritchie’s directorial choices move the story at a brisk clip, keeping things mostly interesting between all the pratfalls, chases, and ham-fisted action. Much as he did with Sherlock Holmes,  Ritchie directs this King Arthur tale for the ADD generation, jerking and twitching like a junkie itching for his next fix. Straightforward storytelling is not Ritchie’s strength here – no single shot must last more than a second or two, the camera must be constantly in motion, and themes such as conflict and honor and betrayal must never get in the way of bombast and spectacle. While Antoine Fuqua’s KING ARTHUR (2004) was a gritty, realistic look at the Arthurian legend, Ritchie’s film plays up the fantasy with gravity-defying sword battles and colossal elephants that trample entire cities under their feet. There are mammoth rats and giant snakes, creepy (if underused) tree demons, a squid monster that cloaks the ghosts of Vortigern’s victims, and a muscle-bound, scythe-wielding warrior straight out of Frazetta’s Death Dealer, all driven by Daniel Pemberton’s drum-heavy metal score.

Charlie Hunnam as Arthur looks mangy, like a typical Ritchie hero, but he lacks period presence. Best known for the TV show Sons of Anarchy, Hunnam plays Arthur as a fierce fighter who craves adventure, but not much else. He still has a biker’s surly swagger and seems far too contemporary. Still, he’s not terrible, and his dialog isn’t as clunky as I’d feared. Excellent are Jude Law as tortured Uncle Vort, Adrien Gillen as bow-and-arrow wiz Goosefat Bill, and the always reliable Djimon Honsou as the Sir Bedivere. Being an origin story, there’s no Lancelot or Guinevere and Merlin the Magician makes but a brief cameo (as does the Round Table). Instead, magic is doled out by ‘The Mage’ played by mumbly Astrid Bergès-Frisbey with all the saucy perkiness of a French fashion model. Those looking for great art or storytelling look elsewhere, but if you’re in the mood for a fun, mindless time at the movies, fill up the popcorn bucket and sit back for some summer entertainment. And prepare for a sequel as this King seems preordained as a franchise-in-waiting.

3 of 5 Stars