Dog’s Movie House: “King Arthur: Legend Of The Sword” Energetic Fun!

Howdy Folks!  It’s The Kendog!

Charlie Hunnam as Arthur In “King Arthur: Legend Of The Sword”

I love me a good sword and sorcery movie.  From “Excalibur” to “The Lord Of The Rings” to even the uneven pleasures of a movie like “Krull” I can’t get enough of those mystical worlds involving kings and dragons and knights and damsels in distress.  The King Arthur tale is one of the most enduring of these stories and has been told in film many times, most recently with Antoine Fuqua’s 2004 version starring Clive Owen.  Now it’s Guy Ritchie’s turn and he’s given us an entirely different, yet very entertaining version of the classic story that you’ll enjoy a great deal if you’re not too attached to the standard tale.

“King Arthur: The Legend of The Sword” features Arthur (a very good Charlie Hunnam) as an orphan raised in a brothel in Londinium after being sent down the river from Camelot as a young child.  The backstory of the death of Uther (Eric Bana) and the assault on Camelot by Mordred is put in a blender and set on frappe.  That’s not a bad thing, but Arthur purists are going to have their teeth set on edge in a hurry.  In any event, Arthur grows up to be something of a benevolent gangster, protecting his female charges and running a breathtaking number of cons in the streets of Londinium.  That all changes when the legendary sword Excalibur presents itself.  The new king Vortigern (a wonderfully underhanded Jude Law) demands all men of a certain age attempt to pull sword from stone.  Arthur is among them and things get even stranger when he, of course, pulls Excalibur from the stone, setting himself and a ragged band of Uther supporters against the might of Vortigern and his mighty army.  Aiding Arthur is his cause is a woman simply called The Mage (Astrid Berges-Frisbey) a disciple of Merlin’s who counsels Arthur in the ways of Excalibur and how he is able to use it. 

The use and properties of Excalibur are one of the many things director Guy Ritchie (“Sherlock Holmes”) has fun with in this new story.  Hunnam makes for a gritty anti-hero who has to find his way into becoming the leader his was born to be, which is a big difference from the traditional Arthur legend.  Hunnam’s Arthur is a good guy, but he spends most of the movie running from his destiny rather than embracing it.  It helps make the once and future king more relatable to the audience (more Robin Hood than King Arthur) but serves as a dramatic departure from the original story.

The character of Merlin is never seen, but mentioned several times as the leader of a group of magic users called the Magi.  This film was planned as the first of a five or six film series, so if a sequel is greenlit (not likely given this film’s unfortunate box office performance) we may see the legendary wizard at some point. 

Along with the performances of Hunnam, Law, and Bana, Ritchie gets good work from veteran actors like Djimon Hounsou as the former leader of Uther’s forces and Aiden Gillian (“Game Of Thrones”) as the loyal archer Bill.  The rest of the cast delivers Ritchie’s quick witted dialogue with flair and verve although these peripheral characters are somewhat underwritten.  The effects work and production design is impressive (it had better be for $S175 million) and Ritchie has a ball with the various action set pieces.  In the end “King Arthur: Legend of the Sword” is a fine offering and a creative retelling of the Arthur mythos that deserves to be seen on the big screen.  See it before it disappears!  4 Out Of 5 On Kendog’s Barkometer!  So Sayeth The Kendog!