Hollywood’s biggest flop in years is not entirely atrocious.
Robbed of his birthright, Arthur comes up the hard way in the back alleys of the city. But once he pulls the sword from the stone, he is forced to acknowledge his true legacy - whether he likes it or not.
This was supposedly the first of a planned 6 film franchise and it’s obvious that the majority of it sets up a universe/franchise, but it’s unlikely to ever see a sequel. So far the film’s made $14m on its $160m budget, one of the biggest block-buster losses in years. Is the movie that bad? No, it’s not. Is it good? No. It suffers from the director, Guy Ritchie has a unique style - flash-forwards, rewinds and “possible scenarios”. None of these work in a medieval fantasy film. The music is wild inappropriate and sounds exactly like the score of Ritchie’s Sherlock Holmes. Performances are mixed, Eric Bana is great, but is only in 6 minutes. Jude Law is delightfully over-the-top with his menacing villain and Charlie Hunnam has moments of greatness. Hunnam needs the right director to demonstrate his potential and Ritchie just can’t evoke that from him. Aidan Gillen and Djimon Hounson are the notable supporting cast, but neither gives a memorable performance.
The cinematography, especially in crucial scenes is sickening - you can’t focus on the action. The script is historically disastrous, don’t use this in history classes. I feel the issue is the story’s been done to death and this “interpretation” is not good. With a different director this could’ve been an interesting film, but Ritchie’s cinematic quirks quash the enjoyment.
Overall probably one to miss.
1 Stars
Review by Benjamin Maio Mackay
Screening courtesy of Palace Nova Cinemas
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