(Photo Credit: Warner Bros. Pictures)
Familiar But Effective Story
1/2
If moviegoers find the storyline of “King Arthur: Legend of the Sword” unfamiliar, the biblical story of Jacob and Esau will ring a bell.
In the Bible, Esau’s birthright entitled him to much of Isaac’s wealth and God’s blessings.
Unfortunately, Esau’s younger brother Jacob tricked their blind father Isaac into thinking that he was actually Jacob.
Instead of Esau and his descendants ruling the land because of his birthright, Jacob instead ruled and Esau and his descendants were under his command.
In the film “King Arthur: Legend of the Sword,” the story of Arthur (Charlie Hunnam) and Vortigern (Jude Law) is very similar.
Vortigern and King Uther (Eric Bana) were brothers, but the kingdom resided with Uther and his descendants, namely his son Arthur.
Desperate for power, Vortigern makes a deal with the mages to destroy his brother’s empire and to take control of the entire country.
Seeing Vortigern’s evil plan take shape, Uther sends his son out of harm’s way via a local body of water.
Arthur ends up being taken in by the women of the night and raised in a brothel.
Despite his regal lineage, Arthur grows up very much as a commoner.
He has to hustle just to eat and live comfortably.
Arthur learns how to fight ruthlessly at a very young age and becomes very protective of those who protected him, the local ladies of the night.
When a Viking abuses one of these ladies, Arthur and his cohorts teach them a lesson and they go back to life as usual.
Unfortunately for Arthur, the Viking he reprimanded is under the protection of his uncle, King Vortigern.
When Vortigern hears about Arthur’s actions, he sends his subordinates to capture Arthur and get retribution.
However, when Arthur gets to his uncle’s palace, Arthur and everyone else finds out that he is more powerful than anyone ever knew.
In “King Arthur: Legend of the Sword,” the rightful king has to come t0 grips with his royal heritage or watch an entire people suffer under the evil regime of his uncle.
Although the story in “King Arthur: Legend of the Sword” has striking similarities to other popular stories, director Guy Ritchie’s film resonates because of the intense fighting, exhilarating visual graphics and effortless comedic timing of the actors.
Hunnam is quietly becoming the movie star of 2017 with his starring roles in “King Arthur: Legend of the Sword” and “The Lost City of Z.”
Actor Djimon Hounsou, who portrays Bedivere, brings his usual physically intimating but calming presence.
And Jude Law is his usual stellar self.
Unfortunately for “King Arthur: Legend of the Sword, “ the legendary story loses some luster because of some of the weirdness with the film’s fascination with predatory animals.
The Mage (Astrid Berges-Frisbey), who has control over the animals, is needed for Arthur to realize his real potential but it is still kind of odd to say the least.
Nevertheless, “King Arthur: Legend of the Sword” is worth a watch and might strike a deadly blow at the box office.
But some of the weirdness makes one wonder if the story would have been better if the movie was just a portrayal of the tale of Jacob, Esau and Isaac.
REGAL RATINGS
FOUR CROWNS=EXCELLENT
THREE CROWNS=GOOD
TWO CROWNS=AVERAGE
ONE CROWN=POOR
