Review of King Arthur (2004) by Kai82 — 12 Feb 2021

A movie of the legend of King Arthur with the bold and interesting choice to tell a fictionalized story that could have happened behind the legends. It has no supernatural elements and does not use many of the tropes of the legend.

It is set in the fifth century were the western Roman empire is declining and is withdrawing from Britain (The decline happened in real life too ending the western Roman empire and the withdraw has happened a few decades sooner).

It is the story of the half British Roman commander Artorius Castus who is the leader of a group of Sarmatian knights. The Sarmatians were defeated by Rom but because their horsemanship impressed the Romans they were left alive and their children were drafted as auxiliaries into the Roman army (In real life for many foreigners this was the best way to get the valuable Roman citizenship).

He and his man are persuaded by force into a last mission to safe a member of an influential Roman family from north of the Hadrians Wall (Defense wall against the barbarians and border to the uncivilized world in Roman viewpoint).

However the Romans leaving Britain is watched by many as opportunity. There is no power vacuum that will not be filled sooner or later. Here the actual story starts and I wont spoil it. I think it is a refreshing take on the legend as the story itself delivers.

I will however also point out that it is a mixed blessing as there are established expectations if you name something King Arthur. This could evenkill the movie for some people. The characters are likable and their heroes journey or character development is believable.

Clive Owen as Artorius delivers a good performance. He is a humanly character and strong leader. The Samratian Knights with Ioan Gruffuldd as Lancelot, Joel Edgerton as Gawain, Hugh Dancy as Galahad, Mads Mikkelsen as Tristanand Ray Stevenson as Dagonet are good too but fail in comparison to the legend.

Here the decision harmed the characters without a misstep by them. The legendary knights of the round-table are just bigger than real life;-). Keira Knightly as Guinevere fully won me over. She is a bad ass female warrior you never want to face against.

Stephen Dillane is an interesting Merlin. He delivered without the supernatural elements and this deserves credit at least by me. In general it is a decent to good performance. There are a few weaknesses but they don't drag this movie down.

The costumes, weapons and sets look good. Again they went against the established King Arthur tropes. It looks good but is not that much accurate which is completely O.K. for an entertainment movie. Could not hold this against it if it is no documentary.

There was also the claim that this movie was a plagiarism of “The Last Legion” which is by the way another good movie (Have yet to read the book). I think there are some familiar themes but I am not qualified to judge it at least from a legal point of view.

Overall this was an interesting experience. I will say it is a worthwhile movie with some good parts. It is also not great enough to leave an imprint. Worth watching but should not end on your top 10 lists.