King Aruthur: Legend of the Sword 2017

     Arthur was next in line to be the King of Britain but he grows up in the back alleys of the realm.  After the death of his parents as a young boy, he was sent away in a small boat and he arrived in Londinium.  His father was the previous King Uther Pendragon and the current King Vortigern is Arthur’s uncle.  King Vortigern killed Arthur’s parents in order to rule as King.  Vortigern has men searching though the male population of a certain age for a man who can pull Excalibur from the stone.  Legend states that this man will be the next King but Vortigern will do anything to prevent this from happening.  Arthur begins to command a group of disgruntled noblemen and men familiar with battle but not allied with the King.  The Mage is a young woman with magic skills she a representative for the wizard Merlin.  She aids the group in their battle with the King.

     There are a LOT of battles, a LOT of CGI but not much background about the actual King Arthur legend.  Many of the scenes are in darkness so you can’t see the real details.  Director Guy Ritchie doesn’t leave a moment of the film without action!!  In some ways, this is like Robin Hood and all the merry men plus thieves.  Everything doesn’t need to fall into place because it's all about the struggle!!  3* (This movie is OK)

126 min, Action directed by Guy Ritchie with Charlie Hunnam, Astrid Berges-Frisbey, Jude Law, Djimon Hounsou, Eric Bana, Aidan Gillen, Freddie Fox, Craig McGinlay, Tom Wu, Kingslely Ben-Adir, Neil Maskell.

Note:  Imdb 6.8 out of 10, 29% critic 69% audience on Rotten Tomatoes, Roger Ebert 1 ½*, Amazon 4* out of 5* with 1157 reviews, Metacritic 41 out of 100 with 45 critics 7.2 out of 10 with 493 reviews, The Guardian 3* out of 5* review by Peter Bradshaw.

Special Note:  Filmed in Wales, Scotland, England, UK and Fjaorargljufur, Iceland.  This is the first installment of a planned six-film series.  Ritchie was concerned about the 20 pounds Hunnam lost for the last season of Sons of Anarchy of 2008.  Hunnam told Ritchie he would fight the other two actors (Henry Cavill and Jai Courtney) vying for the role and the last one still standing would get the job!!  Felicity Jones, Elizabeth Olsen and Alicia Vikander auditioned for the role of the Mage.  Hunnam patterned his fighting style and bodybuilding after Ultimate Fighting Championship Irish featherweight Conor McGregor.  Hunnam’s personal record for pushups was 1,050 in one day.  The original title was Knights of the Roundtable: King Arthur.  Two other versions were started by other directors and actors but were not produced.  There is another film about King Arthur from 2004.