King Arthur – Legend of the Sword – My Honest Review
It’s brilliant.
It’s worth the price of admission, your time, and you’ll regret not seeing it on a big screen.
It didn’t do great on its opening weekend and I’ll tell you why I think that is – and then why it’s probably one of the best movies I’ve ever seen in my entire life. Mind you, I LOVE movies with character depth, fabulous cinematography, and great dialogue.
WHY IT DIDN’T DO WELL – from the perspective of a middle-aged romance writer and mother of three adult children.
- It’s mother’s day weekend – not cool to drool over Hunnam in front of the hubby and kids.
- It looks like it’s an “Arthurian Tale’ that Lord of the Rings fans might like, and I hated LOTR. It’s not, by the way.
- Not a lot of commercials that I saw (so not aimed at my demographic – the one with cash, a love of story, and free time).
- Not a romance movie – not a super “special effects” movie – not a car chase movie.
WHY IT’S PROBABLY ONE OF THE BEST MOVIES I’VE EVER SEEN – from the perspective of a romance writer who STUDIES story-telling, plotting, character development.
- I’m a fan of Guy Ritchie’s work. I loved the fast paced dialogue, his use of camera special effects, and his ability to absorb me so completely that I want to live in that world. (Not really, I truly enjoy indoor plumbing, Serta mattresses, and air conditioning.)
- Ritchie’s vision transforms an old legend and makes it real, relevant, and entertaining. His ability to build character depth – showing us Arthur’s childhood – the scene below is one of my favorite examples, and one of the reasons I went to see the movie twice. EVERY scene is important. Every scene moves the plot forward, deepens the character, makes you care what happens. https://youtu.be/RhCKdRBCgtc
- The cast – the dialogue timing was easily one of the best I’ve ever watched and I’ll probably buy the movie when it comes out because as a writer, I want THAT kind of pacing.
- Charlie Hunnam has an aura about him – his growth in this movie as he moves from slick street hustler to future king feels organic and is believable and he did a fabulous job. He reminds me of John Wayne. (Yes, I’m that old.) He has a swagger, not just his physical gait, but his presence on screen, that brings power to the role.
- Jude Law – could have been the stereotypical power-hungry antagonist, but the scene where he explains to Arthur his addiction to the fear of the people hit home for me, but I live in the Heroine capital of the US… The scenes where he makes personal sacrifices for his addiction were beautifully mirrored and tragic.
- OMG, David Beckham did a cameo.
- I loved the fact that there was no romance between the Mage and Arthur. It would have felt forced and gratuitous. (Yeah, this from the romance author, go figure.)
- The music is PHENOMENAL. I recognized some of the old tunes/songs but they’ve been appropriately updated and really are perfect for the mood and setting of the movie.
- I loved the personal growth of Arthur throughout this movie. Watching it the second time made me love the movie even more. As a writer, often times I watch a movie and I’m like… yeah, here’s plot point one, here’s the midpoint – oh, wait, here comes the black moment. This movie pulled me in, and it was the second time through I intentionally looked for how Ritchie seamlessly transitioned through the movie. The man is brilliant… Gah… Seriously – that growing up scene gives the movie viewer a sense of how hard Arthur worked from street urchin to successful hustler – and then at the black moment even HE recognizes that it was his childhood that made him the man capable of being king. GAH! I LOVE THIS MOVIE.
I saw it twice because – well, honestly I didn’t want to drool over Hunnam with my hubby so I went with my bff. However, the movie was SO good, I wanted my hubby to see it. (And he did give me the stink eye when Hunnam took off his shirt, but he really enjoyed the movie, too.) We both love good movies, great dialogue, excellent character growth. This movie is fun. It’s a great family movie – no sex, some language, some violence – but not that in-your-face type. It’s a fabulous take on a rich story and worth the price of admission! I’m really sad it “tanked” it’s opening weekend because it’s a fabulous piece of cinematography.
My other favorite movies? I love a lot of movies, but here’s a few I think are very special, in no particular order:
The Quiet Man
Grand Canyon
Silverado
Year of the Comet
What’s your favorite movie?
English