King Arthur: Legend of the Sword (2017) - USA
Review by Andrew Chan
This blockbuster of a film directed by the voltage fuelled Guy Richie failed for many reasons. First up, the lead actor Charlie Hunnam is by no means an A-list recognisable star. Sure he had some success on the TV screen, but lacks the charisma to carry such a big epic historical tale. Secondly, the film have too much Richie's footprints all over it and in many circumstances, it overshadow its own material. Too many words and things are happening at an unassuming pace and that's just not on. Thirdly, it lacks a strong female character to balance the books, imagine someone like Gal Gadot as Guinevere. Fourthly, the only A-list stars in Jude Law as the key villain King and uncle and Eric Bana in a light cameo are both criminally underused, especially when they are the best thing to come out of the film itself.
In return, the film plays like a long slog where many things happen without a lot of focus and characters that we care very little about. It doesn't help when Jude Law simply outclass Hunnam in every department despite being the villain. Hunnam himself a good character acting in past CVs, simply does not cut it as the future King Arthur. Apart from Bana and Law, the rest of the cast, simply come and go and in other words, replaceable and forgettable.
All in all, there have been many adaptations and attempts to relaunch the King Arthur franchise, this is clearly another failed attempt to recapture that magic. There are far too many flaws, dragged out sequences with little meaning and uninteresting leading performances. Guy Richie is a great director, but here he failed to capture the mood and got lost within his own indulgence. With the worldwide box office well below to budget, the good news is that a sequel is highly unlikely.
I rated it 2.5/5
Out on Steelbook and 4K Blu Ray at https://neofilmshop.com/search?q=King+Arthur
