King Arthur: Legend of the Sword

I’ve always preferred the demystified Antoine Fuqua King Arthur to the Camelot or Excalibur interpretations, but director Guy Ritchie has decided to turn the tale of the sword-in-the-stone into an Elseworlds Batman romp in this version starring Charlie Hunnam (The Lost City of Z) as the shunned once and future king. After his jealous Uncle Vortigern (Jude Law) betrays his dad, King Uther (Eric Bana), the heir to the throne is raised in a brothel learning the street skills necessary to lead a band of outlaws against the empire. Unable to wield Excalibur, a mage sent by Merlin who controls hawks and horses tests his abilities for the final confrontation with a creature that resembles Frazetta’s Death Dealer! The first hour of this 126-minute film, features associates Bedivere (Djimon Hounsou) and George (Tom Wu) playing hide and seek with the king’s men, each searching for Arthur. But it’s the far-fetched, almost gaming-inspired second half that falls flat.

[PG-13]