Film Reviews

King Arthur

• Rating:
• Director:
• Starring: Clive Owen
• Details: US / 120 mins / (12PG).

In what purports to be a dissembling of the myths which have crept up around Arthur and his knights over the centuries, King Arthur is instead a drab swords 'n' very little sorcery effort in which the titular character (an emotionless Clive Owen) is a less than devoted but still loyal servant to the Roman Empire. Having been told that his men were to be granted their freedom, he finds that promise has been revoked unless they carry out a pre-medieval version of the infamous 'one last job'. Under duress, the old gang, which includes Lancelot (Gruffudd), and Galahad (Dancy) - heads north to Hadrian's Wall, where they have to rescue a favoured relative of the Pope. Problem is, a gang of ruffian invaders, led by Cerdric (Skarsgard), are intent on doing a bit of raping and pillaging in the immediate area.
As it seeks to cut through the fallacies and legends that surround King Arthur, this self-important and largely uninspiring fare loses sight of its most fundamental concerns as a motion picture. Laboured in tone and delivery, the film charts an uneasy course between cliched characterisation and poorly executed actions sequences, while never managing to find rhythm or coherence. Owen, bless him, is dreadfully miscast as the warring monarch. Yes, the script doesn't do him any favours but his lack of emotion is fatal. Oh, and in case you were wondering, Ray Winstone does a riff on his wide-boy routine as Bors, a character used for not only comic relief, but to show that Arthur's real achievements include recruiting the first authentic cockney geezer into the Roman Empire. Which is about as much that can be said for King Arthur, too.

Review by Garreth Murphy