The half-Roman, half-British Arthur (Clive Owen) leads a band of Eastern knights in defense of Roman interests in Britain. The six surviving knights are Lancelot (Ioan Gruffudd), Tristan (Mads Mikkelsen), Gawain (Joel Edgerton), Galahad (Hugh Dancy), Bors (Ray Winstone), and Dagonet (Ray Stevenson). On the day the knights, who have been forced into service for fifteen year, were to be released from their duties, they are given a mission to save the Pope’s godson before the newest group of invaders, the Saxons, capture him. During their quest, Arthur frees Guinevere (Keira Knightley), a native British warrior, and discovers that the ideals he cherished in Rome may not exist.
I can’t think of King Arthur without comparing it to the other big-budget, sword-epics that came out at the same time, Troy and Alexander. All descendents of Gladiator, they were attempts to take legendary tales and remove the mythical elements, creating gritty and more human tales. And in that task, they all failed. Alexander ended up as a pompous story that followed characters who were unrecognizable as human. Troy and King Arthur both shook off one mythology and replaced it with another, still dealing with larger-than-life heroes in improbable situations using impossible skills. King Arthur is the best film of the three, and quite enjoyable, as long as you go in knowing what you are about to watch. Ignore the filmmaker’s statements about this having a close connection to reality, and equally, forget about the traditional Arthurian legends. Instead, go in prepared for an epic tale of colorful heroes, who happen to have the names of other mythical heroes, set in a world that vaguely reflects the later years of the Roman Empire.
So, taking for what it is, this is a fun, hit-them-with-swords and make-grand-speeches kind of movie. The battles are exciting, with excellent swordsmanship in evidence everywhere, as well as some great axe throwing, a good number of impalings, plenty of charging horses, clanging iron everywhere, and the proper mix of chaos and heroic duels. You want action, it is here in abundance. The camera is occasionally too close, but I’m afraid Gladiator has condemned us to that for another five or more years, and no film made in recent times will avoid these overly tight shots.
The characters, and there are a lot of them that you need to know, are all clearly delineated. These are rough, violent, tired men with recognizable traits (and even individual fighting styles) and are easy to care about. While Arthur is a bit dry, Lancelot and Bors are flamboyant and kept my attention. Guinevere is even better as a strong, direct personality and warrior, but one also willing to use seduction to get what she wants. Arthur is essentially seduced into saving the land. Makes sense to me, particularly with Keira Knightley as the blue-painted, waifish Amazon.
Like all epics, this one is impressed with its own depth, containing a few too many speeches on the rights of man. Arthur would have been more engaging without bringing up freedom every few minutes. Luckily, when he gets too overbearing, someone attacks, and everything is good again.
If you want a true account of 5th century Briton, this film isn’t for you. If you are clinging to the standard Arthurian legends and want only retellings of what you’ve already seen (which is just peculiar—aren’t there enough of those already made?), then this will only irritate you. If you want a good epic for an evening, this will do nicely.