King Arthur: Legend of the Sword
Director: Guy Ritchie
Talent: Charlie Hunnam, Astrid Bergès-Frisbey, Jude Law, Djimon Hounsou
Released: 19th May
Unlike his surprisingly enjoyable reinvention of Sherlock Holmes as an action hero, director Guy Ritchie’s take on the Arthurian legend is a dour, predictable and completely incoherent mess that’s surely destined to become an epic flop. The plot follows the young king-to-be, played by Charlie Hunnam, as he reluctantly enlists in a campaign to overthrow Jude Law’s tyrannical usurper and restore peace to the land.
Although the first act benefits from Ritchie’s typically energetic editing, a couple of choice one-liners, and a truly hilarious cameo which I wouldn’t dream of spoiling here, soon enough it all degenerates into a CGI-heavy slugfest that takes itself far too seriously and provides neither thrills nor surprises.
The script, by Ritchie with Lionel Wigram and Joby Harold, is almost incomprehensibly amateurish and betrays a clear belief by the filmmakers that a work of fantasy need not have any sense of internal logic. The whole film, in fact, seems like a relic from the 90s, a time before Peter Jackson’s Tolkien adaptations and HBO’s Game of Thrones, when the genre was widely considered to be a joke.
Things are not much better in the acting front. Supporting roles are ably filled by decent performers such as Aiden Gillen and Djimon Hounsou, while Law at least seems to be having fun chewing up scenery. However, Hunnam, who was electrifying in James Gray’s recent masterpiece The Lost City of Z, here reverts to his usual wooden self, perhaps because, having had a taste of working in a proper movie, he simply cannot be bothered with crap like this anymore.
Reportedly, Legend of the Sword is the first of a planned six-part film series, but Ritchie must be deluded if he actually thinks he can start a franchise with a film every bit as terrible as his previous turkeys Swept Away and Revolver. Profoundly ill-advised.
Words: Felipe Deakin
