King Arthur: Legend of the Sword

"You're no longer a myth.  You're starting to mean something."

Camelot is at war with Mordred (Rob Knighton), a powerful wizard.  King Uther Pendragon (Bana) uses the magical sword Excalibur to defeat Mordred.  Despite the victory, Uther is betrayed and killed by his power-hungry brother Vortigern (Law).  Before his death, Uther hides his young son Arthur in a boat.  The boat drifts away and Arthur is found and raised by a group of prostitutes.

Years later, Arthur (Hunnam) is a skilled fighter with a loyal crew.  He still protects the prostitutes that raised him.  When he gets between some Viking warriors and his adoptive family, he is arrested.  Vortigern has been the king since Uther's death, but desires control of Excalibur which is embedded in a stone.  All of the prisoners are sent to try and remove the sword.  Only Arthur is able to remove Excalibur from the stone, but that gift puts a price on his head.  The brothel is destroyed and Arthur and his friends are branded as outlaws.  Can Arthur find a way to wield Excalibur and claim his rightful throne?


King Arthur was a legendary British ruler.  His story is mostly told through folklore, with the best known version being Geoffrey of Monmouth's "Historia Regum Britanniae (History of the Kings of Britain)."  There have been many other literary versions of Arthur and they have spawned numerous films.  Every film focuses on a different side / gift of Arthur, while still presenting the story that people know.

Warner Brothers has been trying to make a King Arthur film (or series of films).  They ultimately settled on a script that encompassed may of the ideas from other stories, under the direction of Guy Ritchie.  The script was written by Ritchie, Joby Harold, and Lionel Wigram.

This film tries to do something different from previous Arthur stories.  There is no Guinevere or Launcelot or Morgan le Fay / Morgana.  Mordred is different, and Merlin is mentioned without ever appearing.

This is a Ritchie film, so there is lots of action / violence.  I like Charlie Hunnam as Arthur... but I don't love the film.  Why replace Merlin with the Mage?  I understand wanting to add female characters, but the character isn't interesting.  I like Arthur's friends, and the later reveal of their names that ties into Arthurian stories.  Overall, the film is a miss.  It tries to do something new, but can't quite decide what it wants to be.

It's not terrible, and definitely has some good ideas... but it never lives up to the potential.

King Arthur: Legend of the Sword (2017) 126 minutes
Rating: PG-13 for sequences of violence and action, some suggestive content and brief strong language
Director: Guy Ritchie
Starring: Charlie Hunnam as Arthur
Astrid Berges-Frisbey as Mage
Djimon Hounsou as Sir Bedivere
Aidan Gillen as Goosefat Bill
Jude Law as Vortigern
Eric Bana as Uther Pendragon
Kingsley Ben-Adir as Wet Stick
Craig McGinlay as Percival
Tom Wu as George
Neil Maskell as Back Lack
Freddie Fox as Rubio
Bleu Landau as Blue
Annabelle Wallis as Maggie