King Arthur: Legend of the Sword
Rent & Buy
When the child Arthur’s father is murdered, Vortigern, Arthur’s uncle, seizes the crown. Robbed of his birthright and with no idea who he truly is, Arthur comes up the hard way in the back alleys of the city. But once he pulls the sword Excalibur from the stone, his life is turned upside down and he is forced to acknowledge his true legacy... whether he likes it or not.
What critics thought
DivisiveGuy Ritchie's hyperkinetic reworking of the Arthurian legend was broadly panned by critics as a franchise-hungry, style-over-substance misfire, though a minority found its shameless energy occasionally entertaining. The central dispute is whether Ritchie's relentless pace and gonzo sensibility are a feature or a fatal flaw — most critics landed firmly on the latter, while audiences were considerably more forgiving.
“Ritchie keeps rushing us along for two hours, as if to make absolutely certain that we never have time to absorb any character or moment, much less revel in the glorious, cheeky ridiculousness of the whole thing.”
Matt Zoller Seitz·RogerEbert.com
“It is a grim and stupid thing, from one of the world's most successful mediocre filmmakers, and if Shakespeare's King Lear were blogging today, he'd supply the blurb quote: 'Nothing will come of nothing.”
Michael Phillips·Chicago Tribune
“Guy Ritchie's cheerfully ridiculous Arthur is a gonzo monarch, a death-metal warrior-king. Ritchie's film is at all times over the top, crashing around its digital landscapes in all manner of berserkness, sometimes whooshing along, sometimes stuck in the odd narrative doldrum. But it is often surprisingly entertaining”
Peter Bradshaw·The Guardian
“surprisingly good, and surprisingly political”
Alissa Wilkinson·Vox
Genres
Action, Drama, Fantasy
Cast & Crew
Guy RitchieDirector
Charlie HunnamArthur
Jude LawVortigern
Àstrid Bergès-FrisbeyThe Mage
Djimon HounsouBedivere
Eric BanaUther Pendragon
Aidan GillenWilliam "Goosefat Bill"
Freddie FoxRubio
Craig McGinlayPercival "Percy"
Tom Wu"Kung Fu" George
Kingsley Ben-AdirTristan "Wet Stick"
Neil MaskellBack Lack
Annabelle WallisMaggie
Daniel PembertonComposer
Joby HaroldWriter
Lionel WigramWriter
David DobkinWriter
John MathiesonCinematographyKing Arthur: Legend of the Sword
When the child Arthur’s father is murdered, Vortigern, Arthur’s uncle, seizes the crown. Robbed of his birthright and with no idea who he truly is, Arthur comes up the hard way in the back alleys of the city. But once he pulls the sword Excalibur from the stone, his life is turned upside down and he is forced to acknowledge his true legacy... whether he likes it or not.
What critics thought
DivisiveGuy Ritchie's hyperkinetic reworking of the Arthurian legend was broadly panned by critics as a franchise-hungry, style-over-substance misfire, though a minority found its shameless energy occasionally entertaining. The central dispute is whether Ritchie's relentless pace and gonzo sensibility are a feature or a fatal flaw — most critics landed firmly on the latter, while audiences were considerably more forgiving.
“Ritchie keeps rushing us along for two hours, as if to make absolutely certain that we never have time to absorb any character or moment, much less revel in the glorious, cheeky ridiculousness of the whole thing.”
Matt Zoller Seitz·RogerEbert.com
“It is a grim and stupid thing, from one of the world's most successful mediocre filmmakers, and if Shakespeare's King Lear were blogging today, he'd supply the blurb quote: 'Nothing will come of nothing.”
Michael Phillips·Chicago Tribune
“Guy Ritchie's cheerfully ridiculous Arthur is a gonzo monarch, a death-metal warrior-king. Ritchie's film is at all times over the top, crashing around its digital landscapes in all manner of berserkness, sometimes whooshing along, sometimes stuck in the odd narrative doldrum. But it is often surprisingly entertaining”
Peter Bradshaw·The Guardian
“surprisingly good, and surprisingly political”
Alissa Wilkinson·Vox
Genres
Action, Drama, Fantasy
Cast & Crew
Guy RitchieDirectorCharlie HunnamArthurJude LawVortigernÀstrid Bergès-FrisbeyThe MageDjimon HounsouBedivereEric BanaUther PendragonAidan GillenWilliam "Goosefat Bill"Freddie FoxRubioCraig McGinlayPercival "Percy"Tom Wu"Kung Fu" GeorgeKingsley Ben-AdirTristan "Wet Stick"Neil MaskellBack LackAnnabelle WallisMaggieDaniel PembertonComposerJoby HaroldWriterLionel WigramWriterDavid DobkinWriterJohn MathiesonCinematographyRent & Buy