King Arthur (Blu-ray Disc)

King Arthur is an historical movie that takes place in the days of ancient Rome, a time when fighting and dying was a normal part of everyday life. This movie is based on the legend of King Arthur and his Knights of the Round Table- a mythical story that took place hundreds of years ago in the hostile battlefields of ancient Europe.

Movie Facts:

Rating: PG-13
Format: Color
Director: Antoine Fuqua
Screenplay: David Franzoni
Theatrical Release Date: July 7, 2004
Movie Length: 130 Minutes

Cast: Clive Owen, Mads Mikkelson, Hugh Dancy, Ioan Gruffurd, Joel Edgerton, Ray Stevenson, Ray Winstone, Stephan Dillane, Keira Knightly, Til Schweiger, Stellan Skarsgard, Pat Kinevane, Sean Gilder, Ken Scott, Ivano Marescotti.

Contents of This Video:

The movie centers on King Arthur himself (played by Clive Owen)- a man who is half English and half Roman who has been engaging in warfare since his youth and is now a grown man hoping to be discharged. But he is given one last assignment before he can make his retirement official: There is a Saxon army approaching and Arthur and his troops are given one final mission to combat this threat and rescue some important Roman officials.

While the men prepare to fight, Arthur rescues a young woman named Guinevere (played by Keira Knightly) who is eager to join the men and fend off the Saxons. Guinevere is no ordinary woman- she is a true warrior with an incredible will to fight to the death and achieve victory.

The Saxons are led by a man named Cerdic (played by Stellen Skarsgard) who is every bit as determined as Arthur to succeed, but knows that victory will not be an easy undertaking.

Lancelot (played by Ioan Gruffurd) is on King Arthur s side and he tries desperately to talk Arthur out of accepting this mission. Arthur doesn t like the way the Romans are governing the people, but he remains true to his loyalty and agrees to take on this final mission: fighting off the Saxons and protecting his fellow Romans from harm.

Once the two sides square off, the movie screen turns to an all- out battle scene with the two armies clashing together in full combat. Swords are drawn, fireballs are thrown, and the two sides fight to the finish, with King Arthur and his knights bravely fending off the enemy soldiers.

Final Thoughts:

King Arthur and his legendary Knights of the Round Table is the type of folklore that makes good material for writing books and for making movies. Many among us have read about the heroics of King Arthur and there have been movies made about this event in the past. I had not viewed many of these movies, so I am not completely familiar with the Hollywood treatment of this subject. After watching this film, I left the theater feeling fairly satisfied but also wishing that certain aspects of the movie would have been better.

Like I mentioned above, King Arthur is the focal point of this movie and Clive Owen does an ok job in the portrayal. But my first small complaint I must make with this movie is the poker- faced, overly serious demeanor of the King Arthur character. From reading about the legend of King Arthur, I always understood him to be a man who was loyal and brave, but also a man who possessed a certain degree of charisma. The way King Arthur is portrayed in this movie, he is serious to a fault- to the point where he comes across as one- dimensional and actually a little bit boring. Director Antoine Fuqua should have experimented a little bit more with King Arthur. Even though there was a major battle about to take place and the situation at hand called for one s immediate attention, I m pretty sure that King Arthur would have found time to at least smile once in a while.

Another thing about this movie that some might not like is the old clich s that come with warrior- type movies. You already know, before the film begins, that King Arthur and his knights are going to come out on top. And, like expected, the good guys always seem to get everything right while the villains seem to get everything wrong. Thus, the main plot of King Arthur follows the basic Hollywood formula for ancient warrior movies and many parts are predictable and devoid of the redemption of suspense.

It s common for a heroine to be added into the plot at some point in this type of film, and King Arthur is no exception, with the appearance of the Guinevere character. But what s refreshing is that this lady is no ordinary woman. There is no love scene (I don t think the King Arthur character would even know how to show this type of emotion) or other typical twists to the plot. Instead, Guinevere is a full- fledged fighting machine, ready to take on the enemy and kick some Saxon butt. And that is exactly what she does in the fighting scenes- attacking with a vengeance and showing that she is every bit as good as her fellow male warriors.

Some viewers might also be bothered that this movie doesn t follow the story line that is perpetuated by legends. For example, in most legends that I am familiar with, Lancelot was the one who saved Guinevere and the couples attraction to each other eventually destroyed Camelot. There is nothing like this in the movie, and there are many other areas where director Antoine Fuqua takes liberty with the plot, going against what most of us know about the story of King Arthur. I don t have a problem with this myself because, among other reasons, some people think the entire King Arthur story is 100 percent fabrication anyway. Fuqua, by making the movie a little different from the legend, showed some creativity that should be congratulated, not criticized.

Where King Arthur succeeds most is with the fighting scenes. A good portion of the movie involves fighting, with men and women drawing their swords and preparing for a battle to the death. Besides the major battle near the end of the film, there are several smaller face- offs. But viewers don t need to worry about excessive blood and gore in this movie. Even when the main battle is taking place, there is almost no sight of blood. The director kept the gruesome factor to a minimum, allowing viewers to see people fighting and killing each other without the visual enhancement/detriment of spurting blood.

Overall, I liked King Arthur mostly for its action scenes. This epic film succeeds at presenting some solid entertainment, with the fighting scenes and the scene with the men crossing the frozen lake and trying to drown the Saxons among the best in the movie. A few changes could have made it even better, but it still makes for some good movie entertainment.