Review of King Arthur: Legend of the Sword (2017) by Thequietgamer — 17 Aug 2017

A movie that wants so badly to be the next Lord of the Rings. Unfortunately it's plot is delivered in a choppy and inconcise manner as it tries to cram way too much plotting into a roughly two hour movie, so it doesn't have the narrative chops to back it up. Guy Ritchie does manage to fill the movie with a lot of impressive action, gorgeous special effects, and a great sense of style. So while it is not destined to rise to the heights of Peter Jackson's excellent trilogy of Tolkien adaptations, it at least has legs to stand on in the entertainment department. It provides an interesting new take on the King Arthur legend.

Giant mythological creatures are around every corner and Excalibur gives Arthur some crazy super powers this time around for some reason. Mix in some delightfully sarcastic and genuinely funny dialog and you've got a movie where there is rarely a dull moment. You still have to sit through the fairly standard plot and Arthur groaning in that typical reluctant hero sort of way. We've all seen it before. although we haven't seen it delivered this awkwardly before. The movie's habit of cutting back and forth in time during several scenes is visually impressive, but jarring and at times a bit confusing from a story standpoint. It's also worth noting that this is the most dude-bro version of King Arthur we've had since Starz Camelot series. Charlie Hunman does make this incarnation more likable than Jamie Campbell Bower though. He's got genuine grit to back up that smart mouth and streetwise, rugged charm.

A touch ham-fisted with it's plot and world-building, Guy Ritchie's take on Arthurian legend does manage to be more fun and exciting than it has any right to be. It's understandable why the professional critics hated it. It is kind of one of those overblown, spectacle driven, and kind of dumb fantasy movies that are usually duds all the way around. However in Ritchie's capable hands "Legend of the Sword" manages to avoid the usual pitfalls and elevates itself to simply good, flashy fun. It's clear that perhaps the director had loftier ambitions in mind, but at the end of the day I'm just glad he managed to get simply entertaining out of what could have been a potential train wreck.