Review King Arthur

You can wake me up in the middle of the night for movies like King Arthur (Score: * * * *). I love big movie spectacles and really dig Noble Heroes that Fight the Odds to Overcome Evil Elements. In early summer I had a blast with Troy, and now there is King Arthur. And though King Arthur is maybe a little bit less spectacular than Troy, it was still a movie that grabbed me in such a way that I had to stop myself from starting to cheer during the biggest moments.

The legend of King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table has been brought to the big screen many times already. The makers of this new version have tried to give the story a new angle, however, and based it on new archeological ‘facts’ that were discovered some time ago. According to the new information, Arthur really existed, but was already alive at the beginning of the Middle Ages. He served in the Roman army, which still ruled over part of Britain at that time. Not only that, but he also did not have a talking sword or a wizard that saved his butt whenever necessary!

You’d think that a movie that eliminates the elements that made the original story so magical, would be sort of boring, but that is definitely not the case. The magic from the original story is replaced by true heroism. Arthur is a bold and noble leader, with a group of men behind him who seem to be unbeatable and who put fear in the hearts of all their enemies. It’s all a little bit over the top, especially when Arthur and his men take on a multitude of enemies but are still able to defeat them, but for some reason the movie just kept fascinating me.

In King Arthur, the Romans rule Britain. Arthur and his men, who have to spend 15 years in the service of the Roman army, have to save a Roman family that lives somewhere in the north of Britain. This is bad news, since the north is being threatened by a huge Saxon invasion army. This army is being led by a heartless leader (Stellan Skarsgaard) and his equally ruthless son (Til Schweiger). Nobody is safe for the Saxons, who kill everybody strong enough to carry a sword and who leave a trail of destruction. The son of the Roman family is seen as a possible new Pope, and he has to be saved, no matter what. Arthur and his men are not sure if they want to take this mission. Their 15 years of service have just ended, but Arthur is too noble to just back down. His men decide to follow him, even though the mission seems like a one way ticket to suicide. What follows is a succession of battles, that are smaller than the battles in movies like this, much shorter too, but that are exhilarating to watch because of the way they are handled. The battle on the ice is one of the most exciting scenes of the year, with the battle at the end of the movie following not far behind. These scenes surely get your adrenaline pumping! In between these battles we have a sub-plot concerning the Woads, a group of British warriors, who want Arthur to become their leader, so that Britain may one day be freed from the Roman empire.

King Arthur is such a cool movie because of the actors. The casting director of this movie deserves a big compliment, because almost every actor and actress seems to be right in place. Especially Clive Owen, who plays Arthur, a real hero that not only has to fight his enemies, but also internal conflicts amongst his warriors. He is a true leader, and a fighter who is really unbeatable, just like a legendary figure like Arthur should be. The Knights have also been perfectly cast. Ray Winstone is great as the loudmouth Bors, Mads Mikkelsen is an enigmatic Tristan and Ioan Gruffud nearly steals the movie as Lancelot. Gruffud has recently been cast as Mr. Fantastic in the Fantastic Four movie, and now that I have seen him in this movie I think that was a very good decision.

But the actors on the other side of the line are also doing a good job. Stellan Skarsgaard is having fun as the evil Saxon leader Cedric, while German actor Til Schweiger is nice and manic as his son Cynric.

And then I did not even mention Keira Knightley yet! She is not as prominent in this movie as she is portrayed on the poster, sadly. What she does, however, is good and convincing, but if her role would have been beefed up a little bit she would have left a bigger impression.

The story, actors and locations give this movie the right epic atmosphere. When Arthur en his men are ready to battle the Saxons, and the music swells up, it was almost impossible for me to remain calm. The movie touched me in many different ways and I had a lot of fun watching it. While Troy left a big impression on me because of the scale of the fights, King Arthur was more about the characters. Of course, you have to be open for heroics like this. If you only see a few men dressing funny when you are watching this movie, it won’t be your thing. But if you can appreciate this stuff, a Braveheart-like experience is guaranteed.