King Arthur Review
by Laura Clifford (laura AT reelingreviews DOT com)July 7th, 2004
KING ARTHUR
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Screenwriter David Franzoni ("Gladiator") found the name Lucius Artorius Castus in a student's paper suggesting he was the basis of a legend. This warrior, who drove the Saxons out of Britain at the Battle of Badon Hill in 470, was a half-Roman, half-British leader of a Sarmatian cavalry unit. History and recent archaeological finds point to him as the probable reality behind the myth of "King Arthur."
After two decades serving Rome, Arthur (Clive Owen, "Croupier," "Beyond Borders") brings his men to be released from their servitude by Bishop Germanius (Ivano Marescotti), but the wily cleric gives Arthur a terrible burden - he must inform Lancelot (Ioan Gruffudd, "Titanic"), Bors (Ray Winstone, "Sexy Beast"), Gawain (Joel Edgerton, "Star Wars: Episode II - Attack of the Clones"), Tristan (Mads Mikkelsen, "Open Hearts"), Dagonet (Ray Stevenson) and Galahad (Hugh Dancy, "Ella Enchanted") that they will not receive their release documents unless they rescue a Roman family north of Hadrian's Wall. This means almost certain death as not only are the Saxons descending southward, travelling beyond the wall means facing the barbaric, blue-painted Woads whom the wall was erected to protect against.
The seven samurai are soon corralled by these Picts, but, oddly, their leader Merlin (Stephen Dillane, "The Hours") lets them live. Arthur arrives at the Roman outpost and is disgusted to find Britons working in slavery and torture in the name of Christianity. He frees Guinevere (Keira Knightley, "Pirates of the Caribbean," "Bend It Like Beckham"), an imprisoned Woad, and decides he will march the oppressed peoples away from the Saxons, whose drums can already be heard in the distance. After Dagonet's bravery buys them time during an encounter with an offshoot of Cerdic's (Stellan Skarsgard, "Dogville") army led by his son Cynric (Til Schweiger, "Lara Croft: The Cradle of Life"), Arthur is manipulated by Guinevere into a meeting with Merlin, who suggests they join forces to defeat a common enemy. Arthur's internal struggle over his allegiance to Rome is decided by two things - the execution of Christian leader Pelagius as a heretic and Guinevere's appeals to his maternal bloodlines. Arthur obtains freedom for his men from the Romans who are abandoning Britain as an indefensible outpost, then confounds them all by deciding to stay at Hadrian's Wall to battle the Saxons alongside the Woads.
Producer Jerry Bruckheimer should be congratulated for supporting this revisionist look at Arthurian legend (Franzoni's research found basis in fact for several facets of the myth such as the round table and swords buried in stones), but "King Arthur" is first and foremost a commercial endeavor that owes as much to "The Magnificent Seven" and "Braveheart" as it does to history. A good cast helps disguise the seven-dwarve-like personalities demanded by the script (each knight stands for a different ideal) and Fuqua neatly works around the PG-13 rating with plenty of down and dirty dark ages detail, but "King Arthur" cannot escape its cinematic borrowings enough to make a bold impression of its own. This is the type of film that prides itself on showing the Woads speaking their own dialect, but features the Saxons speaking accented English. It's a watered-down hybrid.
Clive Owen is an excellent casting choice for Arthur - he's handsome and noble and can express complex emotions without dialogue. He looks great on a horse or striding across a field with his Roman cape fluttering behind him. Ray Winstone provides the film's comic relief as the lusty, boastful Bors. The little known Joel Edgerton makes Gawain a standout with his trustworthiness and expressive face. Perhaps most extraordinary is Mads Mikkelsen as the mysterious Tristan who bonds more with his falcon than the other men. After his standout performance in "Open Hearts," Mikkelsen may be on his way to a truly international career like costar Skarsgard's. The more well known Gruffudd either glowers or looks at Knightley with unrequited desire and young Dancy is the fresh-faced one. Knightley convinces with her warrior princess ferocity and subtle political maneuvering, but is somewhat undercut by constant warrior glam shots. Skarsgard plays Cerdic in a gruff-voiced monotone only broken by one enthusiastic reaction to a challenge and Schweiger is simply awful as his son Cyric.
Production designer Dan Weil ("The Fifth Element") makes the dark ages come to life with his recreation of Hadrian's Wall and the bizarre sight of a Roman Villa in the Scottish highlands. Costume designer Penny Rose ("Evita") does beautiful work, incorporating the cultural backgrounds of the characters into their clothes (note Tristan's Mongolian flavored helmet), but she goes overboard with Knightley's bondage fighting gear. Film editing by Conrad Buff ("Tears of the Sun") and Jamie Pearson is terrific in the battle sequences, putting across the brutality of the fighting within the constraints of a PG-13 rating. Hans Zimmer's ("Gladiator") score is uninspired, with former co-composer Lisa Gerard (formerly of band Dead Can Dance) providing Enya-like warbling for Arthur and Guinevere's sex scene.
"King Arthur" would appear to be sequel-ready, but has oddly painted itself into a corner, especially where the Arthur-Guinevere-Lancelot romantic triangle is concerned. It's enjoyable enough for its cast and new ideas, but its the old ideas, a feeling of "Braveheart" reheated, that keep it from being really memorable.
C+
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