Film Review: ‘King Arthur: Legend of the Sword’ is a Dull, Magicless Bore

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CHICAGO – Have you ever had such a bad case of déjà vu while watching a film that trying to remember where the familiar elements are from turns into a more enjoyable experience than actually seeing the film itself? If you haven’t, your quest for that kind of film is fulfilled by the incredibly forgettable “King Arthur: Legend of the Sword.”

Rating: 1.5/5.0

Is it a long lost relation of the “Lord of the Rings” franchise? Yes, but probably a third cousin judging by the familiar, yet inferior approach. Does it cinematically play out like a typical, fantasy-based video game? You could probably give the audience each a video game controller and they would know what to do with it since more than a few of the climactic sequences have the same execution as a boss-level video game battle. Is the movie actually popular “Lord of the Rings”-based video game “Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor”? “King Arthur” would be so lucky, especially since many of the fighting sequences, especially those involving the sword (who at no point do they refer to as Excalibur for some unknown reason), mimic the gameplay and powers in the video game.

The failures of the film begin with the story itself. The story is the brainchild of writers David Dobkin (“Jack the Giant Slayer”, “R.I.P.D.”) and Joby Harold, but it is obvious how heavy Dobkin’s influence permeates every aspect of the project. After seeing the film, you wouldn’t believe three people had their hand in writing the screenplay with simplistic the dialogue and story trod along, but as my mother used to say, “Too many swords will spoil the stew,” or some variation of that. Writers Joby Harold, Lionel Wigram, and Guy Ritchie show us that the pen is not mightier than the nameless sword. They create a loosely based Arthurian tale that turns the once magical medieval Britain of lore into a generic tale that’s just a bore. Historical inaccuracies are the least of this film’s problems.

Continue reading for Jon Espino’s full review of “King Arthur: Legend of the Sword”

Arthur (Charlie Hunnam) pulls a sword from a stone but should that really be what makes a king? This question and more don’t get answered in ‘King Arthur: Legend of the Sword’?
Photo credit: Warner Bros.

Continue reading for Jon Espino’s full review of “King Arthur: Legend of the Sword”