King Arthur

King Arthur

2004
The story of the Arthurian legend, based on the 'Sarmatian hypothesis' which contends that the legend has a historical nucleus in the Sarmatian heavy cavalry troops stationed in Britain, and that the Roman-British military commander, Lucius Artorius Castus is the historical person behind the legend.
Ratings:
Brad Score: 4.5/10
Internet Score: 6.3/10
Director:
Antoine Fuqua
Cast:
Ray Winstone, Til Schweiger, Joel Edgerton, Clive Owen, Mads Mikkelsen, Ioan Gruffudd, Keira Knightley, Hugh Dancy, Stephen Dillane, Ray Stevenson
Genres:
Drama War Action History Adventure

My notes

A serviceable interpretation of the King Arthur story, attempting to align it closer with history. While watching I couldn't stop comparing the film to Lev Grossman's The Bright Sword - which certainly hurt the film. That book treated reality, religion, and fairy tales as equally real and equally valid - creating a very interesting world for Arthur and his knights to inhabit. This one hewed too close to 'we're gonna pay homage to history' without really striving for historical accuracy.

I had seen this before, but not the director's cut. Apparently the changes there develop the love triangle and added some gore. The action in the film isn't Fuqua when he got to The Equalizer, nor is it as good as his gun play. But it's a serviceable film. A good Saturday afternoon viewing.

Watched Oct. 5, 2025 via Streaming — rated 4.5/10