Director:
Antoine Fuqua
Starring:
Clive Owen
Ioan Gruffudd
Keira Knightley
Ray Winstone
Mads Mikkelsen
Hugh Dancy
Stellan Skarsgård
Release: 7 Jul. 04
IMDb
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King Arthur
BY: DAVID PERRY
The History Channel should get some tax breaks this weekend
considering that they’re doing a public service. Anyone coming out of King
Arthur should quickly debrief with the channel as it presents its coverage
of the legend. It’s tough to fault a film for tinkering with a legend, but
when it’s one so well known, the temptation is immense. This King Arthur,
though nominally accurate (all the gang’s here), paints over the themes in
the Arthur story because, evidently, riling stories tested through centuries
aren’t quite as sellable to today’s multiplex audiences.
Foregoing any real impression, this film just mutters its lines about
freedom and nobility and heroics to meet its heart-to-Braveheart quotient.
Of course, the fact that this is first and foremost an action film before
being Arthurian in the least shouldn’t be a surprise considering its
producer is the constantly insulting Jerry Bruckheimer (that this man makes
the occasional Pirates of the Caribbean is a miracle). Directed by Antoine
Fuqua, a director whose only endeavor in drama, Training Day, was built
partly on its overrated and overbearing lead performance and only scantily
on the story it hinted at telling, King Arthur is a crass exercise in
product packaging. Don’t be fooled by the names and the settings, this is
clearly not the story of Arthur, Guinevere, Lancelot, or Merlin. It’s all
about the Washingtons, Lincolns, Hamiltons, Jacksons, Grants, and many
Benjamins.
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