King Arthur Review

In a version of King Arthur that forgoes the mystical element of the legend, Clive Owen shines brightly as the invincible moral upright knight Arthur. Arthur is the lead character in Antoine Fuqua’s 2004 film King Arthur in which the director soars to entertaining heights of entertainment in this motion picture. This tale which attempts to interpret a more realistic version of the legend of King Arthur follows Arthur during the times in which he lived when the Roman Empire was collapsing and politics forced him and his group of knights at the roundtable whom he has served with and trusted his life with for the last fifteen years were forced out into the field for one last mission before they could secure their freedom in the Roman Empire. The dangerous mission finds Arthur and his knights taking on Cerdic and his forces and along the way they gain an alley in Guinevere, a prisoner of the Roman Empire, who helps Arthur look at his life in a different light.

King Arthur beautifully captures the spirit of an action adventure movie through its runtime from beginning to end. It's not a story that stoops to grotesque measures for thrills or drags the audience into a personal diary with melodrama from the characters but focuses on the hero of the story Arthur and his goals. Arthur’s hero’s quest is made very apparent and the director and writer do a great job in establishing to the audience that the story’s concern is with its lead character and not in overrated battle scenes. Indeed even a Shakespearean feel is created by Arthur as he interacts with his knights especially his best friend Lancelot played by Ioan Gruffudd. From the moment the film finds the knights facing the proposition of embarking on a mission more dangerous than any they have faced together over the last fifteen years as part of their contract to serve under the rule of the Roman Empire to the climax of the film, the story engages the audience in what truly feels like an action adventure testing the limits of a group of comrades and not a soap opera with huge action effects. Arthur’s character is the driving force behind that inherent quality and ultimately drives the motion picture forward as he anchors the picture.

Clive Owen is perfectly cast as Arthur as he does so well in establishing himself as a physical and spiritual force of power as he owes his allegiance to God. Arthur is a character that is easily gravitated towards because of his charming charisma and inherent bravery. Clive Owen portrays Arthur as a man’s man, one who would take a bullet for his comrade after he had already been shot down or more appropriately for this period piece a stab through the heart for a friend after already being fatally wounded. The way Arthur talks is complemented with dense dialogue revealing to the audience he’s not only a warrior but a thinker too. Time and time again Arthur credits God with being responsible for his victories and being the ultimate guiding force in his life. God is so important and critical to Arthur’s lifestyle that before he sets off on his perilous mission he consults God and pleads for his blood to be the blood that is sacrificed for victory if the mission demands it and not his fellow knights. This only strengthens his character and informs the audience that Arthur isn’t self-absorbed in any way. Arthur’s best friend Lancelot clashes with Arthur over faith in God as he doesn’t believe in him which creates a fundamental conflict between the two. Arthur isn’t judgemental of his friend’s disbelief but caring and wholly devoted to his cause and duty. The character interactions are a fundamental cornerstone in this picture as they reveal much about the main hero Arthur.

The motion picture establishes Arthur’s relationship with his Knights as honorable and one in which breaking apart would require more than merely death. Comradeship amongst the knights at the roundtable is executed well and along with Clive Owen’s brave Arthur, and Ioan Gruffudd’s doubtful self-concerned yet honorable and caring Lancelot, the cast boasts Mads Mikkelsen as the mysterious Tristan, Ray Winstone as the unmarried drunk of a knight with several children and an incredibly vile tongue and others. The interactions amongst the knights are fun especially between Lancelot and Bors, as Lancelot continuously hints to Bors he is in an affair relationship with the mother of his children. The relationships between the knights serve an important function in creating the emotional core of the film. The face of the conflict in the picture is Cedric who is played phenomenally by Stellan Skarsgard. Cerdic is portrayed as true evil, a man who has no qualms with murdering his own son and who demands respect or repays those who dishonor him with death. The pure villainy in Cedric is a great foil to the extremely humble and morally righteous Arthur. Even with all the great characterizations and driving forces behind the plot, the picture does suffer from some problems in its script though.

The screenplay isn’t perfect which reflects the film, which at times is oddly paced. The pacing does create trouble for the battle scenes as some are exciting and engaging while others feel hampered by the lack of consistent pacing present. The action is invigorating when the characters are driven by something or someone but when the picture loses sight of that the action feels slow or disconnected from the audience. Also, Kiera Knightley’s character Guinevere while certainly charming lacks any real chemistry with Arthur and the romantic subplot between the two feels forced. However, the character does help to gain more insight into the conflict biting away at Arthur through their interactions though the picture would have been stronger had it focused less on the romance between the two and more on what the characters could learn from each other. Speaking of Arthur’s imperfect conscience and what drives him in his mission the background of his origin into the life of knighthood isn’t clearly and well executed falling short of what could have made for some strong motivation character beats for Arthur that the audience could have really connected with.

King Arthur is a blast of an action adventure film as it lives up to the entertainment factor required of such a film. The realistic portrayal of the legend of Arthur is fascinating and provides a great character study for the hero of the film, however, the film falls short with some unengaging action sequences and unnecessary story threads. Overall King Arthur is a good exciting motion picture which is well worth your time. I am giving this film a score of 7.5/10.