"King Arthur" Talkback (Spoilers)

[The Penguin]

The untold true story that inspired the legend.

"My power shall be with you wherever you go, able to fly without wings. On this day, if this be our destiny, so be it." - King Arthur

Release Date: July 7, 2004
Studio: Touchstone Pictures
Director: Antoine Fuqua
Starring: Clive Owen, Stephen Dillane, Keira Knightley, Hugh Dancy, Ioan Gruffudd, Stellan Skarsgard, Ray Winstone, Valeria Cavalli, Charlie Creed-Miles, Joel Edgerton, Sean Gilder, Pat Kinevane, Ivano Marescotti, Mads Mikkelsen, Til Schweiger, Ray Stevenson, Ken Stott

Plot Summary: Historians have thought for centuries that King Arthur was only a myth, but the legend was based on a real hero, torn between his private ambitions and his public sense of duty. A reluctant leader, Arthur (Owen) wishes only to leave Britain and return to the peace and stability of Rome. Before he can, one final mission leads him and his Knights of the Round Table - Lancelot, Galahad, Bors, Tristan, and Gawain - to the conclusion that when Rome is gone, Britain will need a leader to fill the vacuum. Britain needs a king - someone not only to defend against the current threat of invading Saxons, but to lead the isle into a new age. Under the guidance of Merlin, a former enemy, and the beautiful, courageous Guinevere (Knightley) by his side, Arthur will have to find the strength within himself to change the course of history.

Visit the official movie site here.

Comments?


This movie opened today in theaters everywhere. It claims to tell the "true" story of who King Arthur was I believe.

[Deadly Messiah]

Even though I won't be seeing it until Sat, it isn't totally the true story.

Arthur was based off a Roman general who fought the barbarians. When the Western half of the empire fell, Arthur set out to find his own kingdom to rule. Merlin was one of the barbarian leaders Arthur fought.

Around the 12th Century, Guinivere and company were introduced into the story, and so forth. This is the story we are always told about.

This movie though, combines both stories into one, and that is what interests me.

[Elf]

You know, this could've been a great movie, but when you hear that this movie tells the true story of what really happened to Arthur and then also you hear they're doing this based on the success of a certain pirate movie. It seems like one of the worst gimmicks ever IMO.

If I want to see a true King Arthur movie, let it be done by Gibson or anyone else, just not Bruckheimer.

[wrenchien]

i will watch this..

never.

i'm sorry, but king author would have my head beheaded, and my guts made into his girdle if i saw this. and king author must not be disobeyed for he has burning suns for eyes and is 100 feet tall.

if that sounds crazy, then i'd be just as crazy to see this.

word.

i am waiting for potc 2. which may be the only movie in 2006 or 2005 that'd keep disney afloat, if made, considering all the flops they've been having lately, mmm.

[Deadly Messiah]

It was a great movie. Not the best, but very enjoyable, and something I will buy on DVD. There were a few parts where the acting was a little ick, but nothing to detract from the movie. I am so glad they killed off the snotty christian dude. He deserved to die for the way he treated those that did not want to follow christianity.

I liked the final battle where the ___ (What was Merlin's tribe's name) and Arthur played the Saxons wonderfully.

Also, the battle on the ice was really great too.

I give it 3.5/5 stars.

[Squall]

I love the legends of King Arthur, and this movie sounds interesting... but I just don't know...

Does Arthur grow up as a peasant? Does he draw Excalibur from stone or get it from a ghost lady in a lake? Is Merlin a magician who lives backwards in time, or is he just a military advisor?

How would you compare this movie to "Excalibur" and "First Knight"? Or for that matter, "Monty Python and The Holy Grail"?

Ironically, my all-time favorite King Arthur moment isn't even in a King Arthur movie... it's in "Indiana Jones and The Last Crusade." Seeing Indiana Jones meet Sir Galahad was awesome! (I love that movie for many, many reasons actually... where else can you see Adolf Hitler and Sir Galahad, pure evil and pure good, 10 centuries apart, in the same movie and it still make some modicum of sense? LOL)

[Deadly Messiah]

I love the legends of King Arthur, and this movie sounds interesting... but I just don't know...

Does Arthur grow up as a peasant? Does he draw Excalibur from stone or get it from a ghost lady in a lake? Is Merlin a magician who lives backwards in time, or is he just a military advisor?

You see Arthur as a peasant in a flashback scene while he was a boy, and his mother accidently got knocked into a burning house. Arthur was running, and saw a sword (the Excaliber) and pulled it from the ground (might've been a stone) to try and save her. Because of that, he wanted to kill Merlin since his tribe were the ones who attacked his village.

There are no super-natural things in this movie because it is meant to be based off the true Arthur. And Merlin is the leader of a tribe of druids (maybe?). That is also the same tribe Guinivere is from in the movie.

[DarkAngel]

Ironically, my all-time favorite King Arthur moment isn't even in a King Arthur movie... it's in "Indiana Jones and The Last Crusade." Seeing Indiana Jones meet Sir Galahad was awesome! (I love that movie for many, many reasons actually... where else can you see Adolf Hitler and Sir Galahad, pure evil and pure good, 10 centuries apart, in the same movie and it still make some modicum of sense? LOL)

Yeah, that was a great movie. I've always preferred it to "Raiders". If I had to a pick a favorite Arthur-related movie, though, I'd go with "Merlin".

"Excalibur" had its moments, but I wouldn't say I was overly impressed. I didn't really like "First Knight" all that much. I'm interested in seeing "King Arthur". The trailer looked great and I don't mind seeing a different take on the legend. The only thing holding me back are the reviews I've seen. I'm glad to see positive comments from Deadly Messiah, but I'd like to get more reinforcement before going to see it. Has anyone else seen it?

[Joker85]

I saw it and I must say I was pleasantly surprised. I went in with hardly any expectations at all and ended up really enjoying it! It's a very entertaining movie with a strong cast. I particularly enjoyed the final battle, and the battle on the ice. There is no magic or mystical happenings anywhere in the movie. They did a good job making this film as realistic as possible, even though I'm sure a lot of it was not based on fact. I do have a few complaints though. Merlin was an afterthought in the film. He had a very small part and I felt they never properly developed him. Also, the plot of the movie wasn't very strong. Fortunately, with the acting and great battle scenes, it really didn't need to be. Very good movie though, I would recommend anyone who is interested in the legend of Arthur to go see it.

****

[DarkAngel]

Also, the plot of the movie wasn't very strong.

In what sense? Was there not much driving the characters actions or was it confusing? Also, how was the pacing? A friend of mine compared it to "Master and Commander" saying it was slow and boring until the action at the end. Any truth to that?

[Deadly Messiah]

In what sense? Was there not much driving the characters actions or was it confusing? Also, how was the pacing? A friend of mine compared it to "Master and Commander" saying it was slow and boring until the action at the end. Any truth to that?

Please don't make me think of MandC again.

ANyway, no, there was quite a bit of action. You had the battle towards the beginning, the battle in the middle while crossing the ice, and the final battle. There were a few small battles inbetween though (at least from whta I can remember right now).

[Joker85]

Yeah, the pacing is not at all like Master and Commander. I'd say there are more Battles than anything...while M&C only had 2 real battles. As for the plot, I dunno, I just felt like there was something missing from it. Like there were a lot of scenes on the cutting room floor that would have helped. With the exception of Merlin, I felt the characters were very well developed.