King Arthur (2004) Review

After watching and reviewing The Last Legion(2007), which is a rip-off of King Arthur (2004), I realized that I have yet to review King Arthur on this blog!

This is a serious oversight as it is one of the better adaptations of the King Arthur legend I've seen. (and I've been watching quite a few since the end of Merlin).

World-Building: Great bordering on awesome
Characterization: Great
Plot: Great

This movie takes the King Arthur legend/myth and puts it into a very different context. Arthur is a Roman soldier with a Celtic mother. He leads a group of enslaved Sarmatian knights who have been forced into 15 years of service to Rome. Their job is to guard Hadrian's Wall against the Woads (native Britons who don't like Rome's occupation of their country). Arthur's group is almost finished their required 15 years of service and they are eager to be released so they can go back home. Needless to say, this doesn't work out very well for them.

Rome sends them on "one last mission" to save an important Roman boy and refuses to give them their release papers unless they complete this mission. It's a very interesting setting because while Rome is trying to pull out of Britain, the Saxons are coming in and invading it, and the Woads are trying to restore and hold on to what was theirs.

The real story in this film is not about Arthur and Guinevere and Lancelot and the tired old love triangle. It's not about Rome or Merlin or magic or any of that. It's about the Sarmatian knights and their heartbreaking story of exile/enslavement, and it's about Arthur connecting with his Celtic heritage and coming to terms with the non-Roman part of his identity. This is what made it awesome for me. The well-known legend has been done hundreds of times and as I mentioned before I'm sick of seeing the love triangle turn up everywhere, so I'm glad they ditched those elements and did something new.

Some reviewers have complained about historical accuracy. It didn't honestly bother me at all while I watched it, because this is a legend and it's been redone a hundred times. It's not supposed to be 100% accurate. If you want historical accuracy go read a history book. It was a very well told story and it managed to keep the heart of Arthurian legend and the concept of the round table and equality and put it to a very interesting test.

It also had some of the best British acting around. Kiera Knightley was great as a very different Guinevere, and Clive Owen was excellent as Arthur. I must admit, I was surprised, on my third re-watch of this movie, to realize that Lancelot is actually played by Ioan Gruffud! He looks very different as Lancelot, but his acting remains excellent. The other knights were also great. As I said, it was really their story we were being told and it was an excellent one.

I would highly recommend you watch this movie. It is one of the best Arthurian representations I've watched. Ignore the negative reviews and comments and judge for yourself.