King Arthur: Legend Of The Sword

This review may contain spoilers!

This isn't really the King Arthur story that we've come to expect but you won't care because Guy Ritchie delivers one brilliant fantasy epic in this feature. I would give King Arthur: Legend Of The Sword an 8/10.

This is a film where the setting and world that is built up is a lot of fun to view, you're immediately embroiled in a world where political factions vie for power and those who wield magic have their own interests as a faction, in fact exploring this world where street crime is just as intricate as a fantasy world with monstrous creatures is an absolute delight. The film itself is a character piece, a solid look at Arthur and how he takes on the mantle of the true king of England. It's a great story that carefully places a streetwise Arthur as head of a small band of outlaws then swiftly transitions him to reluctant head of the resistance poised to dethrone King Vortigern, Arthur's uncle. It's great to see Arthur grapple with the responsibility of leading his people, clearly he has the natural talent to do this but he's often working hard to find a reason to fight and resist. You'll also love this film purely to see how well Vortigern is crafted as an antagonist, his lust for power is intense and his ruthless attitude towards any who stand his way gets very dark. I loved how the film was edited together, the way multiple scenes were spliced together into one was such an original form of storytelling unlike anything most other films have done before. The cinematography is stunning, with giant landscape sequences brilliantly captured and close action street chases carefully crafted too. The special effects look pretty good, the various CGI monsters are well done and the manner in which magic is portrayed in this film sets the dark tone. The music in this film is by far one of the best qualities; most scenes actually use the score and as a result you feel completely energised over the duration of the feature, Sam Lee and Daniel Pemberton deserve some serious recognition for their work here.

Charlie Hunnam, who played Arthur, is exceptional as the cocky lead of this feature; Hunnam does a great job of showing how his role grapples with the responsibility of becoming a leader over the course of this film. Djimon Hounsou, who played Bedivere, makes for a solid rational advisor figure; his stern demeanour makes him a resolute follower of Hunnam's role. Eric Bana, who played Uther, stands out as Arthur's badass Dad at the start of the film; Bana makes a strong hero and has a great moment of self-sacrifice that kicks this film off. Aidan Gillen, who played Bill, is a very snarky character who's quite self-assured of himself; I think Gillen's sharp wit and wry delivery makes for another great advisor character. Kingsley Ben-Adir, Neil Maskell and Bleu Landau, who played Wet Stick, Back Lack and Blue respectively, were each a good source of comedy for this film; I also felt that each of these performers had a real genuine connection with Hunnam and became the heart of the film to some extent. Michael McElhatton, who played Jack's Eye, had some nice dry wit running with Hunnam in their scenes together; McElhatton does a good job of portraying a stern guard that can play to either the side of the King or the thieves depending on which suits him at the drop of a hat.

However the best performance came from Jude Law, who played Vortigern. Law brings out some of his better work in this film, crafting an antagonist who is utterly twisted yet completely riddled with guilt. The scenes throughout the feature in which he must sacrifice his loved ones are made to be so powerful due to Law's emotional depth and heartfelt delivery. He has complete mastery of the scenes he's in, knowing exactly how subtle he needs to get with his delivery to gain maximum impact. His incredible fits of rage or displays of venomous contempt on his path to gain complete control of the kingdom are quite frightening. This is one of those films that demanded an exceptional performer for the leading antagonist and Law captures this completely.

This film does suffer when it comes to the pacing for two major reasons, firstly as much as I loved the form of storytelling the way it jumps between scenes can be jarring at times, secondly the second act of the film is quite a weighty piece of plot that slows the film right down. The feature also suffers because aside from Arthur and Vortigern none of the characters are given any great depth; it's a film with a large ensemble but there's no great amount of depth provided to this cast of characters.

Astrid Berges-Frisbey, who played The Mage, gives quite a stiff delivery; Berges-Frisbey and Hunnam have quite a forced chemistry that doesn't really justify the number of scenes they have together. Freddie Fox and Craig McGinlay, who played Rubio and Percival respectively, have absolutely little impact on the feature; this pair are a part of the resistance but you aren't placed with them long enough to care for their characters very much. Tom Wu, who played George, is immediately quite a stereotypical character as a martial arts instructor; Wu is used sparingly throughout the film and as such you never really come to care for this role as much as you should. Annabelle Wallis, who played Maggie, is perhaps one role too many in this film; Wallis is a member of Law's court and often falls into the background until the plot comes up with some excuse to use her. Geoff Bell and Peter Ferdinando, who played Mischief John and Earl of Mercia respectively, each serve as Law's right hand man at different stages of the film; it grows quite annoying that neither has much time to make their mark as an antagonist and the film should have just used one of these performers. Poppy Delevingne, Millie Brady and Katie McGrath, who played Igraine, Catia and Elsa respectively, each serve as a form of collateral role to either Bana or Law unfortunately; these are actresses playing wives or daughters who are only really there to be killed off.