KING ARTHUR: LEGEND OF THE SWORD is a mixed bag.   It works best when it is more grounded and gritty, but it falters when it gets overwhelmed by the special effects sequences (like oversized elephants in the opening battle for example and the CGIed Ursula –like demon that Vortigern is aligned with).  Jude Law is Arthur’s evil Uncle Vortigern who seems to shop at the same pimp daddy magician store than Ray Liotta’s evil wizard (from IN THE NAME OF THE KING) went to for his look.  

This latest take on the King Arthur legend is a different and unique take as only Guy Ritchie could think of.   I wish they pulled back on the heavy special effects sequences and worried less about making this turn into a race against time tale (Like many blockbusters seem to do today).   I feel the scenes with Arthur and his gang of rough friends from the streets of Londnium was the best part of the movie.  Jude Law is great as Vortigern given the material written for that character.  The female mage is one of the better characters in the movie and I like Merlin being mentioned instead of being a part of the movie (and I wonder if Merlin would have shown up in a sequel).  The big problem is I don’t think we will ever see a sequel to this movie given its $175 million cost and its poor performance at the box office (and I wonder if some producers of this movie are thinking now if they should have made this movie for less and cut back on the special effects).

This review is ©6-1-2017 David Blackwell and cannot be reprinted without permission.  Send all comments to feedback@enterline-media.com

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