King Arthur DVD

Advantages: some stylish shots and solid performances
Disadvantages: never really achieves... anything...

...Jerry Bruckheimer, that is. His King Arthur is not the medieval magic of much-loved legend. Instead, going back to the Dark Ages, this film professes to recreate the origins of those stories, an allegedly real-life warrior, Arturius, half-Roman, half-Briton, leader of a pack of Salmatian knights (yes, I kept hearing Dalmatian) including Gawain, Galahad and of course Lancelot, whose unerring spirit, loyalty, and fearless prowess in battle gave rise ...
...king… and all dull. King Arthur pulled off in my mind the most extraordinary of cinematic tricks… the no impact trick. One where, post-film, you neither feel like that’s two hours of your life you’re never getting back (League of Extraordinary Gentlemen) nor do you feel sublimely entertained and fulfilled (The Station Agent). Instead, the rising tides of “meh” engulf you (the only noise I can think of that truly expresses this one-shoulder shrugging, ... Read review

Advantages: Good costumes; Stunning scenery; It eventually finished
Disadvantages: Poor historical research; Predictable plots; Clumsy scripting

King Arthur (2004) Genre: Action/adventure Certificate: 12A Running time: 126 minutes Director: Anthony Fuqua Producer: Jerry Bruckheimer Main cast: Clive Owen – Arthur Ioan Gruffudd – Lancelot Ray Winstone – Bors Mads Mikkelsen – Tristan Hugh Dancy – Galahad Keira Knightley – Guinevere Stephen Dillane – Merlin Ken Stott – Marcus Honorius I wanted to like this film, I really did. I have enjoyed reading the Arthurian legends in their ...
...a new film out about King Arthur, but that it was based on a new archaeological theory, I just had to see it. The signs looked good - Jerry Bruckheimer (CSI, Law & Order, Pirates of the Caribbean) was involved; there was an element of historical accuracy about it (I heard tales of sword designs being rejected for not being technologically possible in the era portrayed), and the cast look potentially promising, even given the surprise of the lead ... Read review

Advantages: Ray Winstone and a frozen lake
Disadvantages: Clive Owen and a wooden cast

...for disaster? Disaster, no. King Arthur is certainly not a dreadful film. Misguided and uninspiring, however, would be yes because King Arthur is a rather soulless and uninteresting affair. The story itself is really rather dull. At such a turbulent time in Britain’s history and having positioned the film as telling the REAL story of King Arthur, you might have expected the finished product to be a little more engaging. Perhaps I expect too ...
...King Arthur really doesn’t seem to be fighting for any real purpose and his character’s unwitting indifference quickly seems to rub off on the audience. The apparent switching of sides/loyalties doesn’t really work for me and the Saxon marauders are strictly one-dimensional bad guys, there purely to make Arthur and team seem all the more noble. The film’s original certificate in the UK was PG and at the time of its cinema ... Read review

Advantages: some great performances, battle scenes
Disadvantages: fails to deliver on potential promise, goes nowhere as a result

...This version of the King Arthur legend eschews all the typical takes on the story and focuses instead on a different theory, which according to the opening credits of the film, has received backing from archaeological findings in recent years. The theory goes that Arthur was not really a king of Britain but rather the leader of a band of soldiers bound to serve Rome for 15 years prior to the end of Roman rule in Britainnica. Arthur (Clive Owen) is ...
...made on the legend of King Arthur, which is a shame, because with the ideas it introduces about the man behind the legend, it had enormous potential to be a truly impressive historical flick. Sadly though, it settled for half-baked dialogue and so-so storytelling combined with some brilliant performances that could have sparkled even brighter in a better setting. Such is Hollywood, I suppose. --------------------------------- Director: Antoine Fuqua ... Read review

Advantages: A different slant on the Arthur legend.
Disadvantages: Maybe not what you were expecting.

King Arthur, a name that brings to mind pictures of fairy castles and knights in gleaming suites of armour, mounted upon prancing white chargers doing war on the evil in the world. Images of court ladies dressed in long flowing gowns and wearing tall pointed hats. Fantasies of magic swords and magicians weaving their spells in the ultimate fight between good and evil. This adaptation will shatter all those illusions or at least change the way you ...
...of cross between a warrior king and a witch-doctor. Bors- Ray Winstone, anyone remember him as Will Scarlett in the Robin of Sherwood series? Well its that sort of rough and ready character, one that adds a touch of humour as well. Galahad- Hugh Dancy, not the most macho knight but then I suppose all knights were not muscle-bound giants. Tristan- Mads Mikkelsen, the one with the hawk which seemed to have a bigger part than Mads. Dagonet- Ray ... Read review