Review of Excalibur (1981) by Robert P — 14 Aug 2012

Excalibur is a very well told and exciting film. Excalibur tells the now well known story of King Arthur, from his conception, to his rise to power, to his quest for the holy grail. The film benefits from all around fantastic acting performances, as well as beautiful visual effects that dazzle the audience.

That said, there are other elements of the film that are not done quite as well. Excalibur starts off as a lot of fun in the first half of the film, but the last hour of the film becomes very tedious and very unpleasant.

While the entire film is dark, the last hour of the film becomes so dark that it is simply unpleasant, with clumsy, disjointed scenes that drag on too long. Sometimes, it feels that the film takes itself too seriously for a film that acknowledges the existence of magic.

That's not to say that all films with magic have to be silly, but it sometimes feels as if the film is being dark just for the sake of being dark, and not because the plot demands it. This is especially apparent with the character Morgana, played by Helen Mirren.

Despite the fact that the concept of her is very silly, she is treated with absolute seriousness, and therefore is not exactly an enjoyable character to watch, but I digress. Despite all the problems that I have with Excalibur, I still am able to grant it a very high recommendation simply due to how much they do right.

Excalibur may be a film that does quite a bit wrong, but when it does something right (which it does fairly often) it really gets it right. So, overall, Excalibur is a fantastic, yet fairly flawed, film that is a must see for anyone who likes either King Arthur, or dark fantasy.

It is intriguing, well-made, and simply breathtaking. 4/5 stars.