Lock Stock and Two Smoking Barrels meets Game of Thrones and Dark Souls. Is that enough for a review – maybe? This was an unusual film.
The first five minutes felt like an extended trailer and the next 20 was a British gangster film set in the mythical dark ages. There were quite a few jumps of style and I’m not sure if it worked, but as a viewer it certainly kept you on your toes. As a recreation of Arthurian myth it’s all over the place – Ritchie takes bits and pieces and weaves it into a story of his own making, but some of the ideas are quite refreshing – how the sword got in the stone being one of my favourites- and also the cost of magic power that Vortigern pays being another. Plus the channelling of Mordred’s magic through a coven of acolytes circled around him looked great and seemed to show that the makers of the film thought about how magic might work.
What I still can’t get over though are the giant elephants – the size of mountains. Where did that idea come from? Just crazy.
So what happens? In a nutshell – Arthur’s dad is killed by his own brother (Vortigern) who uses magic powers to defeat Arthur, who is unbeatable facing mortal men because of his magic sword. Arthur – a young boy escapes and grows up as a street kid in old Londinium town. He becomes the leader of a criminal gang. Vortigern grows in power but fears the legend that the true king will come – that true king is the one able to draw the sword from the stone. He tests everyone in the kingdom – eventually Arthur gets his turn …
The effects and style of the film are stunning. The humour you will have seen before in Guy Ritchie films – I’m not personally a fan, but the look of the film and the use it made of diverse myths carried it for me. The main actors were all pretty good, so I would say yes worth seeing – but be prepared for it to be a bit daft.
