Movie reviews - King Arthur
<Back
Overall Rating: 8.8 out of 10
I really enjoyed this film. I didn't love it, but I liked it a lot. It was so much better than I thought it would be. I really can't understand why many people didn't like it. It was different, yes. There could've been changes or added things, yes I guess, but it was very good and original, and that is something you don't find too often in movies these days. This story of King Arthur is very different from any other of the stories or movies you've heard or seen before, so it's interesting.
I think it's the story that fascinates me, or maybe it's the characters. Perhaps because of the fact that King Arthur was such a great, true, and noble Christian man, or because Guinevere rocks with the bow and arrow? Ok, that was silly :P (But it is true, so there.) Anyhow..I'm sure it is a matter of things, but when I see a film, I'm positive and look for the good things about it. I try and look out for everything, including the character development, the dialouge, the music, etc.
You know, I was surprised at how much Christianity was involved, which was really cool by the way. In First Knight there was some, but not nearly as much as was in this one, and I liked that about it.
Anyhow, I'll switch to casting and performances...
I thought the casting was good, they had great actors for the Knights. They were all so perfect for each character. I think everyone will like the Knights, they're all so unique and there's something about each one you'll really admire, maybe even be attracted to. My favorites were Lancelot, Tristan, and Dagonet. Tristan, was just really different from the rest of the bunch. He stood out, and I think that's why I liked him. Dagonet reminded me a bit of Sean Bean/Boromir, he was real rad, I was dissapointed when he died. It was especially sad since he had bonded with the young boy, which was incredibly sweet.
Clive Owen & Keira Knightley were perfect, I couldn't have seen anyone else playing Arthur and Guinevere for this film. Speaking of which, my one main complaint about this film would be the lack in development between Arthur and Guinevere. I think character development is so important, especially when it involves two characters in a relationship. They didn't have many lines, and hardly knew eachother and by the end of the film, they wed. What the heck? I thought Keira's performance as Guinevere was terriffic, this role was completely different from anything she had done before. She did kick major butt. She was more soft spoken and calm in this film, and she reminded me somewhat of an elf, especially in those gorgeous gowns. Arthur was terriffic, he reminded me a lot of Aragorn. It's hard to describe such a character as this because Arthur is just an amazing man with true qualities.
I am grateful that the depth of the friendship between Arthur and Lancelot was shown, that was probably more important than Arthur and Guinevere as I was complaining about above. Ioan Gruffudd (Lancelot) rocked big time, he was one cool character. Before I went to the Theatre I already knew he died, so that was kind of dumb, but I didn't know how he would die. And he died saving Guinevere's life! Awww! (I cried) Man, he loved her. He did. I guess, from what I've heard, that there are more scenes between Lancelot and Guinevere in the Extended Edition.
Ok so I noticed scenes missing from the trailers that I was looking forward to *sob* Oh well, I should've known. Trailers are deceiving. I'm sure some of these are feature on the DVD though.
Now for agressiveness. It was violent, but it was nothing compared to Gladiator. It seemed mild to me, but I think a lot of the violence was implied, you didn't see certain things actually happen, but you know they did happen. I thought the fight scenes were well done though, and Keira was so impressive. None of the fight sequences were cheezy at all, very good actually. You'll see a lot more detailed violence in the DVD though.
The music was great, the story was great, there were some absolute terrific lines and unforgettable scenes as well. I think the Ice Battle was one of my favorites, that rocked big time, and my favorite edited line is in that scene ;)
Here's some random things: Was it just me, or did the Saxons remind anyone of the Urak-Hai? Did Guinevere's appearance in the fim shock you? I was shocked, and disturbed, lol. What a terrible place. *shudders* Isn't Clive Owen's voice awesome? It's almost swoon-worthy, haha. I didn't expect Merlin to be a part of the 'blue people' (inside joke) aka Woads. He was odd, yet interesting...and why did he wed Arthur and Guinevere? Creepy man.