King Arthur: Legend of the Sword

King Arthur: Legend of the Sword

King Arthur wears a leather jacket in front of a pink sky and faces the viewer, his sword held by both hands downward in front of his chest.

Theatrical release poster
Directed by Guy Ritchie
Produced by
Screenplay by
Story by
Starring
Music by Daniel Pemberton
Cinematography John Mathieson
Edited by James Herbert
Production
companies
Distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures
Release date
  • May 8, 2017 (2017-05-08) (TCL Chinese Theatre)
  • May 12, 2017 (2017-05-12) (United States)
  • May 19, 2017 (2017-05-19) (United Kingdom)
Running time
 126 minutes[2]
Country
  • United States[3]
  • Australia[3]
  • United Kingdom[3]
Language English
Budget $175 million[4]
Box office $143.5 million[5]

King Arthur: Legend of the Sword is a 2017 epic fantasy film directed by Guy Ritchie and written by Ritchie, Joby Harold and Lionel Wigram, inspired by Arthurian legends. The film stars Charlie Hunnam as the eponymous character, with Jude Law, Àstrid Bergès-Frisbey, Djimon Hounsou, Aidan Gillen and Eric Bana in supporting roles.[6]

King Arthur premiered at the TCL Chinese Theater on May 8, 2017 and was theatrically released in 2D and RealD 3D on May 12, 2017 in the United States and May 19, 2017 in the United Kingdom. The film grossed $140 million worldwide against its $175 million production budget, losing Warner Bros. around $150 million, with critics "warning audiences to stay away".[7]

Plot

Mordred, an iron fisted warlock, and his armies lay siege to Camelot, seeking to establish the dominance of magic-wielding mages over humankind. Uther Pendragon (Eric Bana), king of the Britons, infiltrates Mordred's lair and beheads him, destroying his forces and saving Camelot. Later that evening, Uther's treacherous brother Vortigern (Jude Law), who covets the throne, orchestrates a coup and sacrifices his wife Elsa to moat hags in order to summon a demon knight, who kills Uther's wife and slays him in combat. The only survivor is Uther's son, who drifts away in a boat and eventually ends up in Londinium, where he is found and raised by prostitutes, who name him Arthur.

Arthur (Charlie Hunnam) grows into a skilled fighter and man of the streets, alongside his friends Tristan and Backlack. The three confront a group of Vikings headed by Kjartan, who had mistreated one of the prostitutes, forcing them to pay her a year's wages for their behavior. Afterwards, the brothel is raided by the Blacklegs, Vortigern's minions, and Arthur learns that the Vikings were guests of the king and attacking them, therefore, constitutes a crime against him personally. Arthur tries to escape the city, but is caught and put on a ship with hundreds of other men. He learns that a mysterious, magic sword has appeared near Vortigern's castle, and the Blacklegs have been forcing all men of Arthur's age to try to pull it from the surrounding stone. When Arthur tries, he pulls the sword out and is quickly overwhelmed by and passes out from the vast power it contains. Vortigern meets with him in the dungeon, revealing his true lineage. Meanwhile, a woman, identifying herself as an acolyte of Merlin, meets with Uther's former general, Sir Bedivere (Djimon Hounsou). She is referred to only as the mage (Àstrid Bergès-Frisbey).

At Arthur's planned execution the mage uses her magic to stage a diversion while Percival and Rubio, two of Bedivere's men, rescue Arthur. Taken to Bedivere's hideout, Arthur initially refuses to help them, but soon collapses again when he tries to wield the sword. The mage persuades Bedivere to take Arthur to the "Darklands," the realm where, years earlier, Merlin destroyed Mordred's tower in defiance of his darkness and forged the sword. Arthur learns Vortigern was responsible for persuading Mordred to rebel against humanity, having grown jealous of Uther's power. Arthur returns determined to destroy Vortigen.

With his friends and Bedivere's men, Arthur stages a series of ambushes and attacks to force Vortigern out of hiding. Aware that his maid is a spy for Bedivere, Vortigen announces plans to meet with his barons in Londonium, sending a body double in his place. The rebels realize the deception but attack anyway; in the process, Rubio is captured while Backlack is severely wounded. The others take refuge in a fighters' school run by Arthur's mentor George, where they are quickly overrun by the Blacklegs. Seeing the mage being held at knifepoint, Arthur unleashes Excalibur's potential, single-handedly killing all of the enemy soldiers.

As night falls and riots break out all over Londonium, the rebels take shelter in a safe house. Knowing that he is mortally wounded, Backlack urges the others to go on, and he is soon found and interrogated by Vortigern and the Blackleg commander, Mischief John. Backlack's son Blue returns for his father, only to be forced to watch his father die at Vortigern's hand.

Arthur, ashamed of his failures, throws the sword into a lake and runs into the forest. When he stops at a small marsh, the Lady of the Lake pulls him into her realm and shows him a vision of the future, where England has been ruined by Vortigern's rule and the people are left to suffer in misery. Recognizing that only he can put an end to his uncle's reign, Arthur reunites with Bedivere, George, and Percival. When they return to the rebel hideout, however, they discover all of their allies dead, Vortigern having found them by torturing Rubio. Mischief John delivers a message from the king: if Arthur does not surrender himself by nightfall, both the mage and Blue will die. Bedivere is able to get the former released in exchange for Arthur surrendering both himself and the sword.

As Vortigern is about to kill his nephew, a giant snake summoned by the mage attacks and devours the captain and his men, while the others free Vortigern's prisoners and lead them in a revolt against the Blacklegs. A desperate Vortigern sacrifices his only daughter and is transformed into the demon knight, confronting Arthur in a separate dimension. Despite his fighting skill, Arthur is quickly beaten. Just as he is about to submit, he witnesses a flashback of the moment when his father was struck down, having turned his own body to stone to prevent Vortigern from seizing the sword. Arthur snatches the sword before it impales Uther, who gives him the right to wield it. Arthur then defeats and kills Vortigern violently but blesses him as he dies.

In the aftermath, Arthur, George, and Percival begin building a round table where Arthur and his knights will meet. Arthur dissolves Vortigern's pact with the Vikings, declaring that they must respect England's power if they wish to avoid war. Blue and the prostitutes arrive with the crown of Uther, which Arthur accepts. King Arthur then addresses his new subjects, holding the sword aloft in the air.

Cast

Kamil Lemieszewski, Jacqui Ainsley and Rob Knighton portrays Merlin, the Lady of the Lake and Mordred, three important characters from the Arthurian Mythology, respectively. Katie McGrath and Millie Brady portrays Vortigern's wife, Elsa, and daughter, Catia, respectively. David Beckham appears in a cameo. Lorraine Bruce, Eline Powell and Hermione Corfield appears as the three Syrens. Michael McElhatton portrays Jack's Eye, Arthur's scout on the kingdom. Nicola Wren portrays Lucy, the prostitute who raises Arthur.

Production

After 2004's King Arthur, Warner Brothers made multiple attempts to make a new film based on Arthurian legend: One was to be a remake of Excalibur, helmed by Bryan Singer, while the other was a movie to have been titled Arthur & Lancelot, which would have starred Kit Harington and Joel Kinnaman, as King Arthur and Lancelot respectively.[8] Warner Brothers suits worried that names were not big enough, and attempted to replace both actors with more profitable ones, before eventually dropping the project all together. [8]

Warner's next attempt to create a new King Arthur film was an attempt to create an Arthurian cinematic universe which would span six films, following different charters before their eventual team up. [8]For this endeavor they hired director Guy Richie, who has himself attempted to make a King Arthur movie prior to that. According to The Guardian, the script soon became "a strange Frankenstein’s Monster-style screenplay" incorporating elements from several of the unproduced Arthurian scripts. [8]

Casting

Film's cast at the 2016 San Diego Comic-Con International, to promote King Arthur: Legend of the Sword.

Charlie Hunnam, Ritchie's choice for the role, was cast to play King Arthur.[9] Elizabeth Olsen was in talks for the female lead.[10] However, on September 18, it was Àstrid Bergès-Frisbey who was cast to play the role instead.[11] On November 14, Jude Law was in talks to play the lead villain role in the film.[12] On February 11, 2015, Eric Bana was added to the cast to play Uther, the father of King Arthur.[13] Mikael Persbrandt joined the film on March 6, 2015, to play a villainous role.[14] Although Idris Elba was reported at one point to of been cast. he would subsequently, in a Reddit AMA, say this was nothing more than a rumor.[15] [16]

Filming

Filming in Windsor Great Park was underway in February 2015,[17] then later in North Wales from March 2, 2015.[18] Later on March 10, 2015, Ritchie tweeted a photo and confirmed the first day of shooting.[19] In April 2015, filming took place in Snowdonia, where locations used were Tryfan, Nant Gwynant near Beddgelert and Capel Curig.[20] Early in July filming continued in the Shieldaig, Loch Torridon and Applecross areas of Wester Ross in the Scottish Highlands. One day of filming also took place at The Quiraing on the Isle of Skye. Filming also took place at Warner Bros. Studios, Leavesden.

Release

The film was set for a July 22, 2016 release, alongside Lights Out, but it was then moved by Warner Bros. to February 17, 2017, alongside Maze Runner: The Death Cure.[21] However, The Great Wall, A Cure for Wellness and Fist Fight were also scheduled to be released on that date and Warner Bros. moved the release date from February 17, 2017 to March 24, 2017.[22] The title was changed to King Arthur: Legend of the Sword in July 2016.[23] In December 2016 the release date was again moved, this time to May 12, 2017, possibly so as not to compete with CHiPs.[24][25]

Promotion

The trailer was released on July 23, 2016, during the 2016 San Diego Comic-Con and was attached to screenings of Mechanic: Resurrection, Don't Breathe, Shut In, and Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them.

It was originally planned for an IMAX release on July 22, 2016, as evident in the Comic-Con trailer,[26] but was cancelled due to it being postponed and only received non-IMAX presentations. The first extended TV spot was released on January 22, 2017, and was shown on the 2017 NFC Championship Game on Fox Broadcasting Company between the Atlanta Falcons and the Green Bay Packers and the 2017 AFC Championship Game on CBS between the Pittsburgh Steelers and the New England Patriots.

A second trailer was released on February 20, 2017 and was attached to Logan, Kong: Skull Island, Power Rangers and Ghost in the Shell. The third and final trailer was released on April 1, 2017 and was attached to The Fate of the Furious, The Lost City of Z (which also starred Hunnam) and Free Fire. All-in-all, Warner Bros. spent $135 million on marketing the film.[7]

The film was shown at select AMC Theatres in a special preview on April 27, 2017, in a promotional event titled "King for a Day." Demand for tickets led AMC to expand the event to 200 theaters.[27]

Home media

King Arthur: Legend of the Sword was released on DVD, Blu-ray, 3D Blu-ray and Ultra HD on August 8, 2017.[28]

Reception

Box office

King Arthur: Legend of the Sword has grossed $39.2 million in the United States and Canada and $101.6 million in other territories for a worldwide total of $140.8 million, against a production budget of $175 million.[5]

In North America, the film was released alongside Snatched and was initially projected to gross around $25 million from 3,702 theaters during its opening weekend.[4] It made $1.15 million from Thursday night previews at about 3,200 theaters, but after making just $5.3 million on Friday, weekend projections were lowered to $15 million.[29] It ended up debuting to $15.4 million, finishing third at the box office. Deadline.com noted that due to the film's $175 million production budget, as well as at least an additional $100 million spent on marketing, the film was destined to be a box office bomb. Regarding the cost of the film, the site quoted one finance expert as saying: "Make original IP [intellectual property] for a cost effective price. If it works then spend more if necessary on the sequel. King Arthur should have been done for $60M-$80M. Warner Bros. had no reason to spend $175M-plus on this picture."[7] Comparing its opening to cost, IndieWire called the film's failings "historic".[30] The Hollywood Reporter noted that the film would likely lose about $150 million.[31] In its second weekend the film grossed $7.2 million (a drop of 53.5%), finishing 5th at the box office.[32]

The film debuted at #1 in an estimated 29 countries, including Russia and Scandinavia, with openings to follow in the United Kingdom, France, South Korea, and Australia.[33] Over its opening weekend, it made only $29.1 million worldwide, in 51 non-American countries.[34]

Critical response

On review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, the film has an approval rating of 28% based on 201 reviews and an average rating of 4.6/10. The site's critical consensus reads, "King Arthur: Legend of the Sword piles mounds of modern action flash on an age-old tale – and wipes out much of what made it a classic story in the first place."[35] On Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating, the film has a score 41 out of 100 based 45 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews".[36] On CinemaScore, audiences gave the film an average grade of "B+" on an A+ to F scale; 56% of the opening weekend filmgoers were under the age of 35, and 59% were men.[7]

Writing for The Guardian, Peter Bradshaw gave the film a generally positive review: "Guy Ritchie’s cheerfully ridiculous Arthur is a gonzo monarch, a death-metal warrior-king. Ritchie’s film is at all times over the top, crashing around its digital landscapes in all manner of beserkness, sometimes whooshing along, sometimes stuck in the odd narrative doldrum. But it is often surprisingly entertaining, and whatever clunkers he has delivered in the past, Ritchie again shows that a film-maker of his craft and energy commands attention, and part of his confidence in reviving King Arthur resides here in being so unselfconscious and unconcerned about the student canon that has gone before."[37]

In a pan of the film for the Chicago Tribune, Michael Phillips questioned the long-term longevity of the projected series of six Arthur films from Ritchie: "I'm no businessman, but plans for a six-film franchise may be optimistic. Optimism is nowhere to be found in Ritchie's movie itself. It is a grim and stupid thing, from one of the world's most successful mediocre filmmakers, and if Shakespeare's King Lear were blogging today, he'd supply the blurb quote: 'Nothing will come of nothing.'."[38] Matt Zoller Seitz of RogerEbert.com gave the film one-and-a-half out of four stars, stating that despite the potential for a revisionist King Arthur story with "[t]he Ritchie sense of style", the overall problem is the film's lack of modulation: "Ritchie keeps rushing us along for two hours, as if to make absolutely certain that we never have time to absorb any character or moment, much less revel in the glorious, cheeky ridiculousness of the whole thing."[39]

Alissa Wilkinson of Vox writes that the film is "surprisingly good, and surprisingly political" in relation to the British withdrawal from the European Union, and "occasionally, it's even pretty great".[40]

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 "Film releases". Variety Insight. Retrieved November 16, 2016.
  2. ↑ "King Arthur: Legend of the Sword". AMC Theatres. Retrieved April 28, 2017.
  3. 1 2 3 "King Arthur: Legend of the Sword (2017)". AllMovie. Retrieved May 12, 2017.
  4. 1 2 "'King Arthur: Legend of the Sword' poised for soft box office opening as 'Guardians' rules". Los Angeles Times. May 9, 2017.
  5. 1 2 "King Arthur: Legend of the Sword (2017)". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved August 5, 2017.
  6. ↑ Jenkins, Mark (May 11, 2017). "'King Arthur: Legend Of The Sword': An Edgy Script, Dulled By CGI". NPR. Retrieved May 17, 2017.
  7. 1 2 3 4 "‘King Arthur’s Head Cut Off With $14.7M Opening As ‘Snatched’ Swims To $17.5M In A ‘Guardians’-Ruled Mother’s Day Weekend". Deadline.com. May 14, 2017.
  8. 1 2 3 4 White, Adam. "The fall of Camelot: how Guy Ritchie's King Arthur became a $175 million box office bomb". Guardian. Retrieved 11 August 2017.
  9. ↑ "‘Sons Of Anarchy’s Charlie Hunnam Is Guy Ritchie’s Choice For King Arthur". deadline.com.
  10. ↑ "Charlie Hunnam to Play King Arthur for Guy Ritchie". variety.com.
  11. ↑ Kit, Borys (September 18, 2014). "'King Arthur' Finds Guinevere With 'Pirates of the Caribbean' Actress". hollywoodreporter.com. Retrieved September 19, 2014.
  12. ↑ Kroll, Justin (November 14, 2014). "Jude Law Circling Villainous Role in Guy Ritchie’s King Arthur Film". variety.com. Retrieved November 16, 2014.
  13. ↑ Kroll, Justin (February 11, 2015). "Eric Bana to Play King Arthur’s Father in ‘Knights of the Round Table’ (EXCLUSIVE)". variety.com. Retrieved February 15, 2015.
  14. ↑ Ford, Rebecca (March 6, 2015). "Guy Ritchie's 'King Arthur' Adds Swedish Actor Mikael Persbrandt". hollywoodreporter.com. Retrieved March 7, 2015.
  15. ↑ "Idris Elba Eyes Guy Ritchie’s ‘King Arthur’ at Warner Bros.". variety.com. July 21, 2014. Retrieved July 23, 2014.
  16. ↑ Freeman, Molly. "Idris Elba Talks Luke Cage & Debunks ‘King Arthur’ Casting Rumor". Screenrant. Retrieved 11 August 2017.
  17. ↑ Phillip Williams. "Vans & signs left after filming (C) Phillip Williams : Geograph Britain and Ireland". geograph.org.uk. Retrieved 2 February 2016.
  18. ↑ "On the Set for 3/2/15: Matthew McConaughey & Gugu Mbatha-Raw Start 'Free State of Jones', 'Kickboxer' Wraps & More". ssninsider.com. March 2, 2015. Retrieved March 7, 2015.
  19. ↑ "First day on KORT". twitter.com. Retrieved March 11, 2015.
  20. ↑ Crump, Eryl (April 10, 2015). "Filming of Hollywood movie King Arthur set to start in Snowdonia". dailypost.co.uk. Retrieved April 12, 2015.
  21. ↑ Anthony D'Alessandro (December 21, 2015). "Guy Ritchie’s King Arthur Film Gallops To 2017, ‘Lights Out’ On July 22, 2016: WB Release Date Changes". Deadline.com. Retrieved December 22, 2015.
  22. ↑ McNary, Dave (December 7, 2016). "Charlie Hunnam’s King Arthur Movie Pushed Back to March 2017". Comingsoon.net. Retrieved December 7, 2016.
  23. ↑ "Warner Bros. Pictures Comic-Con Plans Announced!". July 11, 2016. Retrieved July 12, 2016.
  24. ↑ "Guy Ritchie’s King Arthur Has A New Release Date, And It’s Brutal". CinemaBlend. December 7, 2016. Retrieved April 24, 2017.
  25. ↑ "Warner Bros. Shifts King Arthur, CHiPS & Annabelle 2 Release Dates". screenrant.com. 7 December 2016. Retrieved 24 April 2017.
  26. ↑ "King Arthur: Legend of the Sword in IMAX". imax.com. Retrieved 24 April 2017.
  27. ↑ D'Alessandro, Anthony (April 20, 2017). "‘King Arthur: Legend Of The Sword’ Advance Previews In Huge Demand; AMC Ups Theater Count". Deadline. Retrieved April 24, 2017.
  28. ↑ "King Arthur: Legend of the Sword". August 8, 2017. Retrieved June 30, 2017 – via Amazon.
  29. ↑ "'King Arthur' Delivers $1.15M from Thursday Previews, 'Snatched' Takes in $650k". Box Office Mojo. May 12, 2017.
  30. ↑ "‘King Arthur: Legend of the Sword’ is a Failure, and Summer Box Office Could Follow". IndieWire. May 14, 2016.
  31. ↑ "Box-Office Meltdown: 'King Arthur' Could Lose $150M After Falling on Its Sword". The Hollywood Reporter. May 15, 2017.
  32. ↑ "Moviegoers Make $40M Pact With ‘Alien: Covenant’, 2nd Best Debut For Sci-Fi Series". Deadline.com. May 22, 2017.
  33. ↑ "Box Office: ‘King Arthur’ Stumbles Overseas With $29.1 Million", Seth Kelly. Variety. May 14, 2017. Retrieved May, 14 2017
  34. ↑ Schwartzel, Erich (14 May 2017). "‘King Arthur’ Movie Falls on Its Sword in Opening Weekend" – via www.wsj.com.
  35. ↑ "King Arthur: Legend of the Sword (2017)". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved June 18, 2017.
  36. ↑ "King Arthur: Legend of the Sword reviews". Metacritic. Retrieved June 2, 2017.
  37. ↑ Bradshaw, Peter (9 May 2017). "Review of Guy Ritchie's King Arthur". The Guardian. London. Retrieved 18 May 2017.
  38. ↑ Michael Phillips. Review of Guy Ritchie's King Arthur Chicago Tribune.
  39. ↑ Seitz, Matt Zoller (May 12, 2017). "King Arthur: Legend of the Sword Movie Review (2017)". RogerEbert.com. Retrieved May 14, 2017.
  40. ↑ "King Arthur: Legend of the Sword is surprisingly good, and surprisingly political", Alissa Wilkinson. Vox.com. May 11, 2017. Retrieved 14 may 2017
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