King Arthur: Legend of the Sword Review

King Arthur: Legend of the Sword Review

By Myla Tosatto

I’ve personally always loved a good Arthurian legend. Be it Excalibur, Mists of Avalon, Monty Python and the Holy Grail or Disney’s The Sword in the Stone. It combines my love of fantasy and English tales perfectly. Guy Ritchie’s King Arthur: Legend of the Sword doesn’t disappoint in the magic and mysticism department.   It does, however, put a new spin on Arthur’s back story. This Arthur (Charlie Hunnam) is a lean, mean fighting warrior that runs a fun game of mob-like intrigue in Londinium while his uncle Vortigen (Jude Law) is in Camelot being the king. (I would say it’s like Sons of Anarchy but it’s more like nephew of anarchy). This all changes when Arthur’s bad boy ways catch up to him and he is taken to Camelot. Guess what he finds there? You guessed it! Excalibur had been waiting for him the entire time since his father’s (Eric Bana) death. But Arthur is not The Once and Future King in this retelling, he is a reluctant king that will need his friends close by. And even more so, Merlin’s descendant, The Mage (Astrid Berges-Frisbey).

This movie is fast paced and whiplash inducing. It flashes forwards and backwards and sideways. There is not really a moment for taking a rest or a breather. Don’t even think about a bathroom break. This movie is for people who loved Guy Ritchie’s Sherlock Holmes movies, the Hobbit Trilogy and the Ocean’s Eleven movies. This movie is not for people who hate snakes. There are lots and lots of snakes. Like, I mean, really enough with the snakes already.

As far as kids go? Besides the above mentioned snakes? There is some mild swearing (I myself love an Arthur who says “bollocks” and though not a swear word, “posh”). Lots of people die in battle, as expected. Turns out this Excalibur is much more “magicky” than usual. It can do some damage and the body count is high. I look forward to the sequel.

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Acclaimed filmmaker Guy Ritchie brings his dynamic style to the epic fantasy action adventure “King Arthur: Legend of the Sword.” Starring Charlie Hunnam in the title role, the film is an iconoclastic take on the classic Excalibur myth, tracing Arthur’s journey from the streets to the throne.

When the child Arthur’s father is murdered, Vortigern (Jude Law), Arthur’s uncle, seizes the crown. Robbed of his birthright and with no idea who he truly is, Arthur comes up the hard way in the back alleys of the city. But once he pulls the sword from the stone, his life is turned upside down and he is forced to acknowledge his true legacy…whether he likes it or not.

Starring with Hunnam (FX’s “Sons of Anarchy”) and Oscar nominee Law (“Cold Mountain,” “The Talented Mr. Ripley”) are Astrid Bergès-Frisbey (“Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides”) as Mage; Oscar nominee Djimon Hounsou (“Blood Diamond,” “In America”) as Bedivere; Aidan Gillen (HBO’s “Game of Thrones”) as Goosefat Bill; and Eric Bana (“Star Trek”) as Arthur’s father, King Uther Pendragon.