King Arthur
From FilmFile
Taglines:
- Rule Your Fate
- Rule Your Destiny
- The Untold True Story That Inspired The Legend
Contents |
Synopsis
Arthur is a Roman soldier, in command of a group of fighters, recruited from the conquered lands to the east of the Empire (Russia, for example). He and his men have been fighting against the British natives, the Woads, for 15 years. However, Rome has finally decided to pull out of Britain, and Arthur and his men only have a few days left of service before they are free to return to their homes. Unfortunately, before they can go, they are sent on a mission to rescue a wealthy Roman’s family. This last task will grant them their freedom. With the Saxon’s invading from the North, and the mysterious leader of the Woads, Merlin, prowling in the woods, this wil be a mission which will test the remaining Knights of the Table to their limits.
Review
The heroic knights are portrayed as totally human, yet fierce fighters, and the sense of camaderie between the remaining Knights is portrayed well. The banter and wit which they throw at each other really does give you the sense that these men have fought for each other many times over the 15 years together, and seems so real. Ray Winstone, as Bors, steals all the best lines, and makes the most of every moment of screen presence. The rest of the cast follow closely in his shadow, which is unfortunate as the main character in the piece, that of Arthur, seems to be less of a presence than his fighters. Perhaps this was the intention, to show that this great mythical King was only so widely known due to the strength of his loyal men. Perhaps, or mayhap it is simply that Clive Owen isn’t really a strong presence on screen. Either way, there are no real bad performances, just some strong ones that outshine the rest.
One seemingly wasted character is Merlin, who is renown in the film as being mysterious and having strange mystic powers. Whilst I accept that the powers were simply superstitious Roman tales of a leader they didn’t understand, what does concern me is that he doesn’t really do much, and the true power of the Woads seems to be the mysteriously elven Guineviere (played by the delectable Kira Knightly). It is the lack of presence of Merlin that leads me to suspect some cuts to the film. There are other noticeable cuts, particularly in the brutal, yet strangely bloodless, battle scenes. Some elements cut away so fast, and move around that you feel you have missed a few minutes of the fight. Perhaps we will see an extended Directors Cut DVD in the future some time.
These minor quibbles do not detract from an otherwise enjoyable film. With a strong cast, and some stunning scenes (the scene on the frozen is pure tension), and a fabulous score to compliment it, the film achieves the task of educating whilst entertaining. This is one to watch.
Trivia
- Michael Bay was originally set to direct, but left the project due to budget concerns. Bay had developed the project for over 5 years.
- Although the weather seems very cold and dreary, the movie was shot during near-record high temperatures in Ireland.
- According to Ioan Gruffudd (Lancelot), the camera operator wore a motorcycle crash helmet and was constantly surrounded by men with riot shields because of the intense action sequences happening around him.
- Over 400 extras were used as Saxon warriors. Most of them had never had fight training at all.
- Keira Knightley reportedly nearly killed a horse while practicing her archery for the film.
- When Antoine Fuqua took over the project, he wanted Daniel Craig to play Arthur but was overruled by producer Jerry Bruckheimer, who believed that Clive Owen was going to be cast as James Bond, which would greatly increase the film's commercial shelf-life on DVD.
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