[yasr_overall_rating]
Robbed of his birthright, Arthur comes up the hard way in the back alleys of the city. But once he pulls the sword from the stone, he is forced to acknowledge his true legacy – whether he likes it or not.
I’ve never been a fan of the King Arthur legend. While I enjoyed “Excalibur,” probably some bias in there because it was filmed in Ireland, overall, it never excited me. “First Knight,” with Richard Gere and Sean Connery, failed to ignite anything, “King Arthur,” with Clive Owen and Keira Knightley fizzled, and the less we say about “The Sorcerer’s Apprentice,” the better. But leave it to Guy Ritchie, the English filmmaker behind such violent fare as “Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels,” “Snatch,” and the surprisingly entertaining “Sherlock Holmes” movies, to knock it out of the ballpark. As of this writing, there is currently a third film in the works. Mr. Ritchie makes the conscious decision to take the story seriously, but not that serious, and as a result, the movie works. It knows when to wink at the audience, and when to just let them sit back and enjoy themselves. I wish more filmmakers would follow suit.
Charlie Hunnam plays the titular character and after an exciting introduction, we discover that Arthur’s father, King Uther (Eric Bana), is betrayed by his own brother, Vortigern (Jude Law), all so he can assume power and take control of the throne but before his death, Uther manages to sneak baby Arthur out of the kingdom in a small boat. It gradually makes its way downstream where the infant winds up in Londonium and is adopted by two compassionate prostitutes who live in a nearby brothel. A quick montage of cut scenes shows Arthur growing up in the red-light district, learning the tricks of the trade, acquiring the necessary street smarts required in order to survive, and taking care of all the girls inside the bordello, traits that will help him eventually become king. With Vortigern constructing a large tower that, when completed, will give him unlimited power over mankind, Excalibur, King Uther’s legendary sword, attributed with magical powers, appears outside Vortigern’s kingdom, embedded into a stone. Vortigern knows that only Uther’s heir will be able to retrieve the sword and take his power from him so he has his soldiers round up every male of a certain age from within Londonium, with the intent on killing him, so he can remain king.
But things don’t go according to plan and when Arthur retrieves the sword, he is whisked away by the Mage (Astrid Bergès-Frisbey), a young woman with mystical powers, and Bedivere (Djimon Hounsou), a man who will eventually become a Knight of the Round Table. Together, along with many of Arthur’s friends, they come up with a plan to take back the kingdom and kill Vortigern but with his dark power growing rapidly, and his tower almost complete, Arthur must learn to take control of Excalibur, instead of it controlling him, and he must re-visit some very dark places he has not looked upon since he was a child.
“King Arthur: Legend of the Sword” follows a very well-worn and familiar path, a young man who grows up on the streets, becomes very good at what he does, and grows into somewhat of a braggart, a narcissistic antagonist who is more than capable of taking care of himself but with a heart of gold, buried deep down inside, away from prying eyes. We know the story, it’s been told countless times before but dammit, Charlie Hunnam has undeniable charisma and onscreen presence that just radiates off the screen and you can’t help but like him. Jude Law exudes pure evil from the very beginning and chews up the scenery around him but when both men appear onscreen, facing off against each other, there is irrefutable tension between them, good vs evil, experienced vs inexperienced, and director Ritchie enthusiastically drags out the inevitable finale but believe you me, it is well worth the wait.
Ritchie brings his trademark fast-moving action sequences with him, as well as his signature quick jump cuts but they are not as jarring this time around, probably because this movie is aimed at a wider audience instead of at his customary “R” rated violent devotees. The whole point here is to just have fun. Don’t nit-pick, don’t go into the Arthurian legend and start to tear the film apart for inconsistencies, just sit back and be entertained, that’s the whole purpose of a big summer movie. If you can do that, you’ll have a blast.
In theaters Friday, May 12th
