Dearest Blog: Yesterday it was off to Marquee Cinemas for the latest proof that Hollywood is out of new ideas: King Arthur: Legend of the Sword.
Spoiler level here will be mild, nothing you haven't seen in the trailers.
A young King Arthur is forced to reclaim his birthright from his traitorous uncle.
As I'm sure you've heard (and heard and heard), King Arthur: Legend of the Sword has many problems. In the interest of finishing strong, we'll get those out of the way first. The movie's biggest issue is that it isn't comfortable in its own skin. It desperately wants you to take it seriously, but offers you no real reason to do so. Modern language, clothing, and haircuts constantly belie its medieval setting...never mind some astonishingly white teeth! Charlie Hunnam--bless his beautiful, beautiful self--is just not that great a dramatic actor. Don't misunderstand me, dear reader(s), I love this guy and have seen and will continue to see everything he does, but he'd be better served by taking more interesting roles in smaller movies than by attempting to carry huge expectations on his strong, broad shoulders. Wait...what? Sorry, I was distracted by the thought of Charlie's shoulders. The supporting cast is reasonably solid, but only Jude Law seems to grasp the silliness of this retelling of the classic tale, delivering a baddie who's a mere moustache-twirl shy of cartoonish. That's the bad news, and I'm surprised and delighted to report none of it is fatal.
On the plus side, Legend of the Sword features some pretty nice creature and battle effects. A couple quick-cut narrative bits are hilarious--the movie's best parts, really--though they seem out of place with the intended tone. The film runs a hair long for what it is, but it never seems too long...which regular readers will know is quite a compliment coming from me! Daniel Pemberton's score is utterly magical. Do get out and buy or download or stream it or whatever you kids do with your music these days. Finally, SPOILER ALERT: Charlie Hunnam is shirtless. More than once. Feel like that's worth the price of admission any ol' day.
King Arthur: Legend of the Sword clocks in at 126 minutes and is rated PG13 for "sequences of violence and action, some suggestive content, and brief strong language."
King Arthur: Legend of the Sword is less authentic legend than it is garden-variety action fantasy, but it's a surprisingly good time with some lovely eye candy. Of a possible nine Weasleys, King Arthur: Legend of the Sword gets six.
Fangirl points: Aidan Gillen (*swoon*)! Freddie Fox! Annabelle Wallis!
Until next time...
No comments:
Post a Comment