King Arthur: Legend of the Sword | Guy Ritchie | May 12, 2017 | Charlie Hunnam

[antovolk]

This was a mess but a swaggering and enjoyable as hell mess. Has a drive and character to it which I really quite liked - and best way to describe it is literally a GOT episode directed by Ritchie but MOAR MONSTERS and back and forth banter and montage. Gets absolutely bats---t insane at times. What's really holding it together somehow are two things - Ritchie's style which is far closer to Boyle this time round, really packs a drive, and the ensemble cast; Hunnam is cool to watch, Aiden Gillen doing hammy Littlefinger, usual bad guy henchman Djimon Hounsou getting surprisingly a lot to play with, but the real surprise was Neil Maskell (Arby from Utopia) - might be the movie's real MVP. I wish Law hammed it up way more Young Pope style - then again I guess we are spoilt now with the existence of that performance in that show. It's not straightforward to follow - there's one too many montage sequences (as awesome as they are, does every single set piece have to be intercut this way) and Ritchie's voice doesn't shine through as much as it should due to the nature of the story - but I think he does his best, certainly an enjoyable and interesting experiment.

7/10

PS. If we have to compare, weaker than Man from UNCLE....

Edited April 27, 2017 by antovolk
updated score

[filmlover]

20 minutes ago, antovolk said:

This was a mess but a swaggering and enjoyable as hell mess. Has a drive and character to it which I really quite liked - and best way to describe it is literally a GOT episode directed by Ritchie but MOAR MONSTERS and back and forth banter and montage. Gets absolutely bats---t insane at times. What's really holding it together somehow are two things - Ritchie's style which is far closer to Boyle this time round, really packs a drive, and the ensemble cast; Hunnam is cool to watch, Aiden Gillen doing hammy Littlefinger, usual bad guy henchman Djimon Hounsou getting surprisingly a lot to play with, but the real surprise was Neil Maskell (Arby from Utopia) - might be the movie's real MVP. I wish Law hammed it up way more Young Pope style - then again I guess we are spoilt now with the existence of that performance in that show. It's not straightforward to follow - there's one too many montage sequences (as awesome as they are, does every single set piece have to be intercut this way) and Ritchie's voice doesn't shine through as much as it should due to the nature of the story - but I think he does his best, certainly an enjoyable and interesting experiment.
6.5/10
PS. If we have to compare, weaker than Man from UNCLE....

     

See few posts above, critics embargo till May 10

RIP this movie.

 

Edited April 27, 2017 by filmlover

[robertman2]

Wait, this guy is in this?

[antovolk]

Just now, Fate of the Robertman2 said:

Wait, this guy is in this?

indeed.

 

[filmlover]

Just now, Fate of the Robertman2 said:

Wait, this guy is in this?

Pretty sure this movie's one and only purpose to exist is the UK Queer as Folk reunion.

 

[Elessar]

38 minutes ago, antovolk said:

This was a mess but a swaggering and enjoyable as hell mess. Has a drive and character to it which I really quite liked - and best way to describe it is literally a GOT episode directed by Ritchie but MOAR MONSTERS and back and forth banter and montage. Gets absolutely bats---t insane at times. What's really holding it together somehow are two things - Ritchie's style which is far closer to Boyle this time round, really packs a drive, and the ensemble cast; Hunnam is cool to watch, Aiden Gillen doing hammy Littlefinger, usual bad guy henchman Djimon Hounsou getting surprisingly a lot to play with, but the real surprise was Neil Maskell (Arby from Utopia) - might be the movie's real MVP. I wish Law hammed it up way more Young Pope style - then again I guess we are spoilt now with the existence of that performance in that show. It's not straightforward to follow - there's one too many montage sequences (as awesome as they are, does every single set piece have to be intercut this way) and Ritchie's voice doesn't shine through as much as it should due to the nature of the story - but I think he does his best, certainly an enjoyable and interesting experiment.
6.5/10
PS. If we have to compare, weaker than Man from UNCLE....

     

See few posts above, critics embargo till May 10

 

Sounds interesting. Might be worth a watch.

 

Although, "enjoyable as hell" and "6.5/10" is somewhat contradicting, imho.

 

 

[WrathOfHan]

Antovolk is usually generous in his grading (no offense), so a 6.5 from him is a little concerning  

[antovolk]

7 minutes ago, WrathOfHan said:

Antovolk is usually generous in his grading (no offense), so a 6.5 from him is a little concerning  

I was actually gonna have it as a 7....and tbh thinking about it I'll probably change it to a 7 haha. Will definitely be divisive though - person I saw it with didn't really like it that much.

Edited April 27, 2017 by antovolk

[Jay Beezy]

58 minutes ago, antovolk said:

 See few posts above, critics embargo till May 10

 

An embargo two days before release vs. Kong's embargo eight days before release or Guy Ritchie's Man from U.N.C.L.E.'s embargo four days before release is concerning. It's the same gap as Tarzan's.

[robertman2]

36 minutes ago, antovolk said:

indeed.

 

Is it a big role for him?

[Arlborn]

1 hour ago, antovolk said:

This was a mess but a swaggering and enjoyable as hell mess. Has a drive and character to it which I really quite liked - and best way to describe it is literally a GOT episode directed by Ritchie but MOAR MONSTERS and back and forth banter and montage. Gets absolutely bats---t insane at times. What's really holding it together somehow are two things - Ritchie's style which is far closer to Boyle this time round, really packs a drive, and the ensemble cast; Hunnam is cool to watch, Aiden Gillen doing hammy Littlefinger, usual bad guy henchman Djimon Hounsou getting surprisingly a lot to play with, but the real surprise was Neil Maskell (Arby from Utopia) - might be the movie's real MVP. I wish Law hammed it up way more Young Pope style - then again I guess we are spoilt now with the existence of that performance in that show. It's not straightforward to follow - there's one too many montage sequences (as awesome as they are, does every single set piece have to be intercut this way) and Ritchie's voice doesn't shine through as much as it should due to the nature of the story - but I think he does his best, certainly an enjoyable and interesting experiment.

7/10

PS. If we have to compare, weaker than Man from UNCLE....

 

That sounds like exactly what I'm expecting from it, nice.

[antovolk]

22 minutes ago, Fate of the Robertman2 said:

Is it a big role for him?

Fairly big, yeah.

[MrGlass2]

5 hours ago, TalismanRing said:

 Same playbook as BvS.

 

What? BvS didn't have 200+ advance free screenings like that.

 

1 hour ago, Jay Beezy said:

 

An embargo two days before release vs. Kong's embargo eight days before release or Guy Ritchie's Man from U.N.C.L.E.'s embargo four days before release is concerning. It's the same gap as Tarzan's.

 

Same gap as GotG2 in many countries.

 

2 hours ago, antovolk said:

certainly an enjoyable and interesting experiment.

7/10

 

Good enough for me. The hype begins!

[Jay Beezy]

14 minutes ago, MrGlass2 said:

Same gap as GotG2 in many countries.

 

Not the same situation as the international rollout and domestic rollout are beginning at the same time with King Arthur.

 

A willingness to open in international territories earlier is essentially the same as lifting the embargo earlier in most situations in terms of critical reception.

Edited April 28, 2017 by Jay Beezy

[grim22]

4 minutes ago, Jay Beezy said:

 

Not the same situation as the international rollout and domestic rollout are beginning at the same time with King Arthur.

 

A willingness to open in international territories earlier is essentially the same as lifting the embargo earlier in most situations in terms of critical reception.

 

Early international openings are more to take advantage of holidays than any critical reception purposes. And OS critics are normally way more lenient than US critics end up being.

[Jay Beezy]

2 minutes ago, grim22 said:

 

Early international openings are more to take advantage of holidays than any critical reception purposes. 

 

There aren't any significant international holidays during the initial international rollout for GOTG2.

 

And statistically speaking, most movies with earlier international rollouts have gotten better reviews.

[grim22]

5 minutes ago, Jay Beezy said:

 

There aren't any significant international holidays during the initial international rollout for GOTG2.

 

And statistically speaking, most movies with earlier international rollouts have gotten better reviews.

 

Australia and New Zealand had Anzac Day, Italy had liberation day and May 1st is Labor Day across half the world. Labor Day and Anzac Day are the major reasons for Marvel movies releasing a week early every year. Labor day is pretty much giving it a 4 day weekend in most of the world.

[TalismanRing]

2 hours ago, filmlover said:

Pretty sure this movie's one and only purpose to exist is the UK Queer as Folk reunion.

 

 

Cue the resurgence of QAF fan fic now with King Arthur crossovers and AUs

 

[WrathOfHan]

Reactions are mixed on Twitter, which isn't a good sign when early screening usually are overrated.

Edited April 28, 2017 by WrathOfHan

[MrGlass2]

9 minutes ago, WrathOfHan said:

Reactions are mixed on Twitter, which isn't a good sign when early screening usually are overrated.

 

I don't know how to embed Twitter here but here are the latest reactions:

 

Amanda Strickhouser‏ @LoandTaysmommy 1m1 minute ago Me and little man got to see king Arthur... Logan loved it. #kingforaday #kingarthur #amc https://www.instagram.com/p/BTaU5D4hXs5/

Hudson Hutton‏ @Freebird72 10m10 minutes ago #KingArthur Attended screening, stylish, modernized dialogue, moved quickly, humor. Liked it very much!

Sean Massari‏ @aboygrwinbrklyn 13m13 minutes ago@wbpictures Just finished the early screening of #KingArthur! It was awesome!!! Definitely seeing again&will preorder blu-ray!Need a Sequel!

Kimber‏ @KimberrHall 25m25 minutes agoTy to @wbpictures & @kingarthurmovie for allowing me to be #KingForADay Everyone should check it out in theaters May12th! #KingArthur

Malia Russell‏ @MaliaMR 25m25 minutes ago Saw the #KingArthur movie (out in 2 weeks). Felt like my senses were assaulted for 2 hours. Napped somewhere in the middle. Duncan liked it.