Movie Review - King Arthur: Legend of the Sword

Movie Review - King Arthur: Legend of the Sword

I would venture a guess and say that most people are familiar with the story of King Arthur. However, this movie focuses on the backstory, and how Arthur eventually became king, and it was much different (and much more fun!) than I thought it would be.

At the beginning of the film, Uther Pendragon (Eric Bana) is the king, but his evil brother, Vortigern (Jude Law), wants to take his place (Lion King vibes, anyone?). To do this, Vortigern has to make a blood sacrifice to the octopus-esque monster that lives underground; once he does this, he is granted extraordinary powers, and is able to kill his brother. His nephew Arthur, then a toddler, is able to escape, though, and we later see a montage of him being raised in the streets, and living in a brothel (eventually becoming the Arthur of 'present-day,' aka Charlie Hunnam).

Inevitably, all of the men in England are asked to try and pull the sword from the stone, since the tide is very low and the sword has recently become visible. This is also a way for Vortigern, now king, to try and find Arthur, since there is a prophecy that says that Arthur will usurp him and become king. Once Arthur pulls the sword from the stone, things escalate from there.

Although Hunnam does a great job here, I have to say that Jude Law actually stole the show - his character is so evil that he doesn't even mind killing family members to get what he wants. Eric Bana was also good in his role, mostly shown in flashbacks, and Djimon Hounsou (Guardians of the Galaxy) also has a supporting role. Astrid Berges-Frisbey (Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides), too, was great as the Mage here, a sorceress who wants to see Arthur and his band of men succeed against his uncle.

Yes, definitely see this movie. It was very, very stylized, and totally not what I was expecting, but it makes for a very fun movie-going experience. The director of the film is Guy Ritchie, who directed The Man from U.N.C.L.E., among other films, and "stylish" is his M.O., it seems - many of his other films take this same direction. The end of the movie definitely leaves the film open for a sequel, too, and I'm hoping that Ritchie uses that option; I'd be up for another Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table installment.

King Arthur: Legend of the Sword is in theaters today, May 12th, and is rated PG-13 with a runtime of 126 minutes. 4.5 stars out of 5.

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