When the kingdom of Camelot is under siege from the forces of the evil warlock Mordred, their army, under the leadership of King Uther Pendragon (Eric Bana) barely manage to win the day but later that night his weakened troops are betrayed by an organised coup from the Kings treacherous brother Vortigen (Jude Law), who wants the throne for himself. Before he is defeated Pendragon manages to place his son in a boat and gives him his freedom, washing up in Londinium he is found by a group of prostitutes who take him in and name him Arthur (Charlie Hunnam). He grows up as what can only be called a typical cockney lad (almost a copy and paste character from Lock, Stock or Snatched) who robs and steals, but always looks after his own and because it’s all done with a wink, a cheeky grin on his face and some witty dialogue, that makes it all okay.

 

Haunted by the tales of the legend that the true king will return and remove the sword from the stone, Vortigen is systematically insisting that every man takes his turn attempting to remove the sword, confident that the controlled conditions of this test will ensure that he has the upper hand once the true King is revealed. When Arthur is forced to partake in the ritual, the true power of the sword is revealed, Vortigen realises that he has underestimated his adversary and knows that he must destroy Arthur before he can learn how to harness his true powers. The battle lines are drawn, so Arthur and his rag tag bunch of, surprisingly multi-cultural, cut throats and thieves must use their wit and cunning against the might and power of the King of England to return the reluctant heir to his rightful place on the throne.

 

As in a lot of Guy Ritchie’s movies, you’re not cheering for the good guy, you’re rooting for the best of the bad guys, and this film is no different. Hunnam is okay as the unwilling ruler, reminding me a little of his role in Green Street, playing the likable gangster-like protagonist, he does what he has to do well without ever shining. Along for the ride in his Robin Hood style mission, his merry men all tick the boxes as required and most are given moments in the limelight which they deliver on but, with the exception of Alden Gillan as Goosefat Wilson, none were given anything particularly memorable to do. Djimon Hounson felt awfully wasted given his talent and something about Àstrid Bergès-Frisbey as a character, inventively called The Mage (have a wild guess at what she does), just didn’t work. There were a few scenes between Arthur are herself which were horrifically reminiscent of the cringe worthy romantic moments between Padme and Anakin in Star Wars.

Jude Law was the real stand out as the power hungry ruler, bringing his full deck to the table and giving his all. It was during the times when this man was feeling the weight of his choices that the movie actually threatened to break out of the haze of mediocrity and become something much better, alas, these moments were fleeting.

 

There are some good, entertaining action sequences, the CGI at times is great and, at other times, awful, the moments when Arthur becomes one with the sword are both brilliant and jarring, the lady in the lake is a CGI mess, throw in some training montages and a David Beckham cameo (Yes, you heard me right) and you get a sense of the divisive rhythm that seems to flow through this film.

There is a distinct skill to what Guy Ritchie can do as a director that few others can and perhaps this is what stops this movie from becoming a complete train wreck. If you were unaware who the director was from very early you could hazard an educated guess, from the quick cut camerawork to the sharp tone of the dialogue, all full of energy but, at times, all too frenetically. While there are moments in the film which are entertaining it really lacks the substance to make it any good because the movie seems to be in such a rush to move to the next scene. It feels like a lot of style over quality and instead of raising up above previous efforts to take the crown, it ends up in Arthurian serfdom.

DJ Speaks Rating: 5 Out Of 10

©Darren Jones 2017