A movie review by: Lee Sonogan

(2017) 2h6min/Action, Adventure, Drama

Vortigern: When people fear you, it is the most intoxicated position a man can possess.

With a budget of 175 million, this movie made 140.8 million at the box office. Don’t let that sway you into not watching this film. This movie stars Charlie Hunnam, Jude Law, Eric Bana, and more names you may have heard of. The director is from the films such as Snatch and Lock, Stock and two smoking barrels. The release date was delayed over 10 ten months due to filming delays.

Director Guy Ritchie’s first cut reputedly came in at three hours and thirty minutes. The film went through several stages. Firstly, director David Dobkin tried to make a version with Kit Harington as King Arthur and Joel Kinnaman as Lancelot, but the movie was deemed too expensive and the actors too unknown. Then, Colin Farrell was cast as King Arthur and Gary Oldman as Merlin, but that version was not made either.

This film marks the third collaboration between Jude Law and director Guy Ritchie. They previously worked together on Sherlock Holmes in 2009 and its 2011 sequel. Charlie Hunnam said that he closely observed Ultimate Fighting Championship Irish featherweight Conor McGregor incorporate his fighting style and his ultra-ripped physique into his portrayal of a young ‘street’ version of Arthur. Hunnam watched hours and hours of interviews and fight footage of McGregor on YouTube because he thought he would be an interesting model for the character.

• The film’s original title was “Knights of the Roundtable: King Arthur.”
• Filming began on March 2, 2015.

Lord of the rings crossed with a Guy Ritchie movie. This film received a “B+” CinemaScore (Variety 2017). For all the issues this movie had, it became an underrated movie in my eyes. It’s dark, gritty, powerful and funny. Acting-wise most of the characters do very well for the characters they have to play. The worse thing about it is that some scenes may be over the top for some. The ending is full of action and concludes in an almost expected way. I recommend this movie to fantasy/King Arthur fans. This new story about King Arthur is worth a watch.

7.2/10

King Arthur: Why have enemies when you can have friends?