:
Clive Owen,
Keira Knightley,
Ioan Gruffudd,
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:
Antoine Fuqua
see all cast/crew...
: Not Rated
: Buena Vista Home Entertainment
: Adventure
: 139 min.
: English, French
: English, Spanish, French
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An ambitious attempt to wed the legend of King Arthur and his Knights of the Round Table with known historical facts of the era, this action adventure drama begins with the fall of the Roman Empire in 450 A.D. as Roman armies flee the British Isles. Arthur (Clive Owen), a heroic knight and devoted Christian, is torn between his desire to travel to Rome to serve his faith and his loyalty to the land of his birth. As England falls into lawlessness, Arthur throws in his lot with a band of knights who hope to restore order to their fair and pleasant land and hopes to win freedom for his comrades, among them Lancelot (Ioan Gruffudd), Galahad (Hugh Dancy), Tristan (Mads Mikkelsen), Gawain (Joel Edgerton), Bors (Ray Winstone), and Dagonet (Ray Stevenson). In time, Arthur and his men join forces with Merlin (Stephen Dillane), a shaman whose band of renegade knights were often pitched in battle against Roman forces. Forming a united front as loyal Englishmen against the invading Saxon armies, Arthur, Merlin, and the brave and beautiful Guinevere (Keira Knightley) are determined to unite a sovereign Britain under one army and one king. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
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| Clive Owen plays a fence post
by shiftless
January 21, 2008 - 12:52 AM PST
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0 out of 1 members found this review helpful
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Despite my snarky title, I actually enjoyed this take on King Arthur with a few winces. The battles and fights are fun and the story moves along at a good pace. Some of the usual Arthurian mythos get minimized or left out, which suited me fine for this version. Some of the dialog is false but overall well written. I was willing to accept the premise that this was the origin of the myth and not the myth itself and I found it really freshened up a well known story. The end was pretty cookie cutter, heroic cheese.
So despite poor King Arthur's personality-less disorder and the most hilarious battle cry ever put on film I had a fun time watching this. But also I'm pretty forgiving of "battles with swords" movies. |
| Not so Legendary
by Moriarty
May 12, 2005 - 8:14 AM PDT
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2 out of 2 members found this review helpful
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I want to start off by saying this wasn't a bad movie. The production values were good, the fights were excellent, and overall this was a pretty good flick. It would almost rank as a poor man's Braveheart.
That said, my biggest issue is with the de-mystifying of the legend. I knew going in that this was an attempt to tell the truth behind the myth. And I think in that way the movie failed. It was more like they took a standard action movie and tacked the names onto the chracters.
You get to see Arthur pulling the sword from the stone and the round table, and all the major players are there, but there's no real connection to the events in the movie and the legends that supposedly followed. That disconnect is what put me off giving this movie a better rating.
As a popcorn flick, this movie is better than some. But as the "truth" behind the Arthurian Legends, this movie falls far short. |
| All Hail the King
by RRiutta
March 3, 2005 - 9:10 PM PST
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2 out of 2 members found this review helpful
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This movie was much better than I expected. It sought to "de-mythologize" the legend of King Arthur, returning it to its human, historical roots. For the most part, it succeeded.
The production values were top-notch with seemless effects, thrilling action sequences, and gritty costuming that appeared authentic (except for Ms. Knightley's leather bikini, but I'm not complaining). The beautiful cinematography and landscapes gave the picture a chilling, isolated feel that added to the story, rather than distracting.
All the actors did good work, creating an ensemble that was vaguely remniscent of the Wild Bunch in that the characters seemed to have developed relationships honed in battle. They were hard on the surface but underneath they cared for their comrades. Stellan Skarsgard was especially good; his villain was intimidating and believable.
My only complaint was the writing. Every time I heard the word "freedom" I wondered if George W.'s speechwriters had taken a whack at the script. Luckily, this was not a dialogue driven movie and scenes moved along quickly.
If you're looking for some thrills and enjoy bloody battle scenes, this is a movie for you. |
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GreenCine Member Rating
(Average 5.33)
99 Votes
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