Feeling historical

King Arthur

This film is the historical, and apparently factual, account of Arthur. It's the story without the magic, or the romance, or any of things that actually made the story of Arthur a legend, and as a consequence the story's rather . . . boring.

The film suffers from a rather plodding and uninspiring second act. Although it is in fact only just over two hours long, by the time Arthur and Guinevere get it on you feel like you've been sat there for about three hours. It could have really benefitted with being half an hour shorter.

The story of Arthur and his knights fighting for the freedom they were promised and denied is told well, but it's flavoured with just a little too much Hollywood cheese to make it truly enjoyable. Several of Arthur's knights -- Gawain, Galahad, Tristan -- are pretty much interchangable, and when each battle scene rolls around you'll be hard-pressed to tell them apart (in fact, during the final battle you won't even spot them).

Guinevere undergoes a startling change once the Romans withdraw, going from a dress-wearing object of Arthur's affections, feisty but civilised, to some tattooed and fetish-outfit clad warrior queen in about five seconds. Keira Knightley is gorgeous, but sadly the strip of electrical tape across her nipples that serves as her warrior queen garb only serves to make her look a little silly rather than sexy.

Later . . .