King Arthur tells of the origins of the Arthur myth.
Arthur is a Roman soldier who’s men have been enslaved in the Roman regime for 15 years. Guinevere is a warrior princess of the rebel Woads, a Celtic people who resist Roman rule, and definitely not the wilting flower as portrayed in legend. And the knights are elite warriors who dream of freedom.
The knights are charged with evacuating a Roman family, one of whom is the god son and favourite student of the Pope, before they can earn their freedom and safe passage through the Roman empire. They must also battle the Saxons and learn that freedom comes at a price, one that is changed half way through.
To be honest, the first half of the film was OK, I was pleasantly surprised to see Mads Mikelson as Tristan. Clive Owen is perfect as Arthur and Keira Knightley lights up the screen as fierce warrior queen Guinevere, but the second half is just one boring and very long battle.
I fast forwarded through the battle scene and was just willing it to end, I was that bored! But, I would only recommend this if you like any of the lead actors and are curious to know what the film is like for yourself.
Random fact: According to Ioan Gruffudd (Lancelot), it took him months to grow the “scraggly” beard his character sports during the film. In addition, due to his Celtic heritage (Gruffudd is Welsh), the beard kept growing in red and had to be “painted” each day before filming, to match his brown hair.
I’d give this 3 out of 5 stars.
