Having just returned from a screening of King Arthur: Legend Of The Sword, I’m sat here in bed, eating a slice of cold pizza and feel like I’ve had a rather entertaining evening. I, for one, was a bit worried about how a Director like Guy Ritchie would handle such subject matter. I mean, I know he did Sherlock Holmes but he’s normally been your more urban, present-day kind of storyteller. So how did he do with the story of King Arthur, the Knights of the Round Table, the Sword in the Stone, the Lady of the Lake, Merlin etc etc ? writes our film reviewer, Richard Doherty.
For a start, you can’t get away from the usual Ritchie mainstay: the London accent. I did wonder if it would be King Arthur done by the cast of Eastenders but, thankfully, I was wrong. There are more accents than just a bunch of dodgy Del Boy’s and Danny Dyer’s or Ray Winstone’s.
Charlie Hunnam plays Arthur, a Prince who finds himself raised on the streets after his Uncle, Lord Vortigem (played by Jude Law), does away with his father, the King, Uther Pendragon (Eric Bana). Before you know it, our Arfur is off yanking swords out of stones and beginning to worry ol’ Lord Vorti who’s sitting pretty on his throne but worried about one of those blasted prophecies coming true. Why is there always a prophecy ?
Thanks to his merry band (no tights on show here though) of streetwise lads (I lost count of how many times the word “lads” is used) and a couple of ‘birds’ who come along for good measure (one of whom is actually a Mage…go her ! Female Mage’s….go equality!) Arthur finds himself on a quest to defeat his Uncle, free the people from his tyranny and take his rightful place on the throne.
Lots of action, some random giant elephants (well, it is a fantasy film), a David Beckham cameo, a dose of humour and a huge amount of testosterone and a reimagining of the historical tale we all know and love. Yes, ok, it doesn’t carry much acting gravitas and ok, it’s probably not going to win any awards but I, for one, was pleasantly surprised at how much it kept me entertained. A rollicking action fantasy adventure, just don’t expect too much historical heaviness.
More Manly Than A Manly Thing Being Manly : King Arthur: Legend Of The Sword Reviewed.
