"Going that extra round when you don't think you can, makes all the difference in your life&quo...
"Going that extra round when you don't think you can, makes all the difference in your life" Rocky Balboa (Rocky IV)
Member since:07.07.2004
Reviews:69
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This film was never at the top of my list of things to watch when it came out in the cinema. I must admit that I was slightly curious about it but was put off it by the mixed reviews it was receiving. When I received it as a Christmas present my curiosity was reignited so rather than take it back and change it for something else I decided to watch it. Could it be as bad as some of the reviews had implied? Surely not.
** Background **
King Arthur is based on the legendary man himself and his role in the rule of the Romans prior to him taking power himself. The film attempts to combine historical fact and Hollywood style and glamour to produce a stylish and accurate production. The film is directed by Antoine Fuqua (Training Day) and is produced by Jerry Bruckheimer (Pirates of the Caribbean).
** Storyline **
As the Roman Empire expands, more people are being conquered and face a new life under Roman rule. To support this ever-expanding empire the Romans need to be recruiting new soldiers to supplement and replenish their armies. After capturing a village after a particularly fierce battle the Romans take the young boys into fifteen years military service. At the end of their service they will be free to leave the army and return to their families.
Fast forward fifteen years and the boys taken from the small village are now a fearsome group of knights nearing the end of their service. Each of them have their own ideas of how their lives will be when they are free of this obligation and all are counting down to the day they are free to choose again. As these knights have grown up together and experienced some horrific things together there is now a very strong bond between them.
The group of knights are lead by Arthur who has ambitions of returning to Rome when his military service is at an end. His idealistic views of the world mean that he believes he will be able to make a big difference from there and influence things.
With their fifteen years service at an end
and their final mission a success the knights return expecting to be granted their freedom. Things in Britain have changed though and the Romans have decided to withdraw their presence from the country. Before freeing Arthur and his knights the Romans instruct them to complete one final mission. Arthur is sent to retrieve a Roman Priest and his son from the clutches of the invading Saxons. This final mission looks more like a suicide mission because of the numbers of Saxons approaching and the presence of the Woads, but the knights are forced to do it to ensure their freedom. All are very good warriors but the odds are stacked against them.
Arthur and his knights must move quickly to rescue the priest and his family before they become surrounded and then negotiate many perils if he is to get them back to safety. Things become more complicated when Arthur becomes interested in Guinevere and the plight of her people. Arthur will find himself torn between his loyalty to Rome and the plight of the Woads.
** Characters **
Arthur – played by Clive Owen (Closer) is the leader of a band of knights coming towards the end of their service to the Roman Empire. Arthur is a good loyal man who has earned the respect of the men who follow him. He is a born leader who always tries to do the right thing and make the world a better place.
Lancelot – played by Ioan Gruffudd (Black Hawk Down) is Arthur’s right-hand man. He is dedicated and loyal to Arthur although he doesn’t share Arthur’s idealistic view of the world. Lancelot is more arrogant than Arthur and more grounded in terms of how the world really works.
Guinevere – played by Keira Knightly (Love Actually) is an important woman for the Woads who has recognised the importance of using the Romans to defeat the Saxons. She realises that Arthur is a good man and hopes that he will be able to help lead her people.
Merlin – played by Stephen Dillane (The Hours) is the leader of the Woads. He is a mysterious man who favours guerrilla warfare. He is convinced that Arthur is the man to lead and inspire his people to fight for their homeland.
Cerdic – played by Stellan Skarsgard (Good Will Hunting, Ronin) is the leader of the Saxons. He is a ruthless man who will do just about anything to achieve his objectives. He is an evil man who is a fearless warrior as well as being very intelligent.
** DVD Extras **The DVD comes with the following extra features:
Alternate ending
A “making of” documentary
The DVD is also available in a special edition version which may/may not have different extras available.** My Opinion **
Given the subject of this film I think there are two ways you can approach it. Firstly you can look at it from a historical point of view and compare it to the facts and decide how accurate it is. Secondly you can approach it as a work of Hollywood and expect it to be entertaining. While I like the idea of the Knights of the Round Table and things like that it is not something that I have a lot of knowledge about, so when I saw this film I went in expecting to be entertained first and foremost although the factual element was in the back of my mind. With this is mind I am not going to try and tell you how accurate the film was as a work of history, more what I thought it was like as a piece of entertainment.
In broad terms I thought this film was pretty poor. After the success and popularity of films like Braveheart there will always be comparisons made when this sort of film is released. With these comparisons come additional expectations and invariably disappointment. Not wanting to be disappointed and after reading some fairly mixed reviews of this film I actually watched it with fairly low expectations. Sadly, I was still disappointed with what I saw.
It is difficult to criticise a storyline that is based on fact but as I was viewing this film as a work of Hollywood rather than a history lesson I was quite disappointed with it. If I am paying good money to watch a film I generally expect to be entertained and if I am not going to be entertained then don’t make it into a film, make it into a BBC 2 documentary. For me, the storyline wasn’t particularly gripping and never really managed to get me engrossed. It all seemed a little flat and had an air of inevitability about it. There was very little suspense or mystery generated or sustained at any point in the film and it all followed a very predictable path.
There are quite a few major characters portrayed in the film, supporting the main role of Arthur. I am not sure if the criticism of these characters should be levelled at the actors themselves or the writers, but most of these characters were poor. I think that in part they suffered from the number of important characters portrayed in the film. It is difficult to develop that many characters to the point where the audience feel some sort of attachment to them. Generally I thought that the characters were poorly written and that the actors could have done a lot better in bringing the characters to life.
The good news for anyone considering watching this film is that it is not all bad, so in the interests of balance here are what I thought were the highlights. Some of the battle scenes were pretty fantastic. Well shot and gruesome they give quite a realistic feel to the scenes. These scenes were the highlight of the film as far as I was concerned.
After criticising the cast in general earlier I would now like to back-track slightly and highlight two performances that stood out. Far from giving sparkling performances in this film they were the best of a bad bunch. The two performers are Clive Owen and Stellan Skarsgard. Taking centre stage, Clive Owen brings a bit of life to Arthur and does quite well at portraying the divided nature of the character. Stellan Skarsgard does well at portraying the ruthless Cerdic. This is a role that is different those I have seen him in previously but I thought he adapted very well.
All in all I was very disappointed with this film. I thought the story was poor and the cast under-performed. Someone more familiar with the historical facts surrounding the rise of Arthur may have got more out of this film than I did but I still wouldn’t recommend it. To me it felt more suited to being shown as a BBC drama than a feature length film.
** More Information **
If you are undeterred by what you have read here and want some more information about the film, check out the film website at the following URL: http://kingarthur.movies.go.com/main.html
** Availability **
King Arthur is now available to buy and rent on DVD and VHS. It can be purchased from all good (or bad depending on your opinion of the film) retailers for around £14 (play.com).
** Overall **
This is not a film I would recommend, nor one I am likely to watch again. If you are intent on watching it then rent it rather than buy it and don’t expect too much. If you are going to buy it and would like to buy my copy off me then look out for an auction coming to a website near you soon.
Thanks for reading
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![King Arthur [DVD] [2004]](http://picnicb.ciao.com/uk/78515631.jpg "King Arthur [DVD] [2004]")
Mar 5th, 2005
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