Taglines: Raised on the streets. Born to be king.
Centuries ago in the Dark Ages, the evil mage Mordred (Rob Knighton) sought great power through the use of dark magic. Mordred and his army make their way to Camelot and begin laying waste to the kingdom of Britain as they ride on the backs of massive war elephants. King Uther Pendragon (Eric Bana) leads his own army against Mordred’s forces. Uther rides his horse to reach Mordred’s stronghold while wielding his mighty sword Excalibur. With one swing, Uther slays Mordred and puts an end to his reign of terror.
Soon after, Uther’s brother Vortigern (Jude Law) leads a coup against Uther and the kingdom. Vortigern takes his wife Elsa (Katie McGrath) underground to a pit where he kills Elsa and spills her blood to achieve a stronger form. Uther gets his wife Igraine (Poppy Delevignge) and young son Arthur out of the castle as Vortigern’s minions, the Blacklegs, are closing in on them. As the villains begin causing chaos throughout the kingdom, Uther brings Igraine and Arthur by the docks. A figure approaches the family and hurls a spear at Igraine, killing her.
Young Arthur is sent to the capital city of Londinium and is taken in to be raised in a brothel. As he grows older, Arthur spends his time on the streets, getting into trouble with other children and picking fights with those that harass him. As an adult (now played by Charlie Hunnam), Arthur grows stronger and more cocky and has made friends with Rubio (Freddie Fox) and Percival (Craig McGinlay)
Arthur tends to his friend Lucy (Nicola Wren), a prostitute, who was previously assaulted by a group of Vikings. Arthur is later called to speak to a commander after Blacklegs raid the brothel. Arthur outed a man in hiding named Goosefat Bill Turner (Aiden Gillen), and he got into an altercation with the Vikings for hurting Lucy and forcing them to give up their wages. The commander tells Arthur that those Vikings were protected by the king, and therefore Arthur must pay for his crime. Arthur is taken and put onto a ship with other men headed for the kingdom. The Blacklegs also kill Lucy in front of Arthur and the other prostitutes just to spite him.
Vortigern speaks to the sirens that granted him his power after he killed Elsa. He does not yet have the full power he seeks, and the sirens tell him that once he kills Arthur and takes the power of the sword, he will succeed. Vortigern then learns that the sword has been found in a stone pulled out of the ocean.
Arthur is brought forth to the stone with hundreds of other men as they are forced to attempt to pull the sword out. When Arthur steps out, he slowly feels the sword coming out of the stone. He sees flashes of images and senses a powerful and overwhelming energy that causes him to pass out.
Arthur wakes up in Vortigern’s dungeon. The king enters and explains to Arthur just what he had felt. He tells Arthur who his father was and how he is able to wield the sword. However, Vortigern intends to hold the power for himself, so Arthur must be dealt with. Uther’s former general, Sir Bedevere (Djimon Hounsou), is met by a woman known as The Mage (Astrid Berges-Frisbey). She was sent by Merlin to help Arthur.
Voritgern sentences Arthur to execution. The Mage hides and uses her powers to summon hawks to attack Vortigern’s men while Bedevere and his men help Arthur get away. They bring him to their hideout, where Arthur awkwardly faces Bill after their previous encounter. Bedevere tells Arthur they need his help in defeating Vortigern, but Arthur refuses to help them. The others then doubt that he really can wield the sword as it was believed. Arthur knows they want him to fight them, and he initially chooses not to, until he sucker-punches Bill and tries to wield Excalibur by himself. This only causes him to faint once more.
King Arthur: Legend of the Sword is a 2017 epic fantasy film written and directed by Guy Ritchie and co-written by 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. 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 $148 million worldwide against its $175 million production budget, with critics “warning audiences to stay away”.
King Arthur: Legend of the Sword (2017)
Directed by: Guy Ritchie
Starring: Charlie Hunnam, Annabelle Wallis, Katie McGrath, Jude Law, Eric Bana, Djimon Hounsou, Astrid Bergès-Frisbey, Mikael Persbrandt, Aidan Gillen, Annabelle Wallis, Craig McGinlay
Screenplay by: Joby Harold, Guy Ritchie
Production Design by: Gemma Jackson
Cinematography by: John Mathieson
Film Editing by: James Herbert
Costume Design by: Annie Symons
Set Decoration by: Tina Jones
Art Direction by: Thomas Brown, Anthony Caron-Delion, Oliver Carroll, James Collins, Luke Hull, Luigi Marchione
Music by: Daniel Pemberton
MPAA Rating: PG-13 for sequences of violence and action, some suggestive content and brief strong language.
Studio: Warner Bros. Pictures
Release Date: March 24, 2017
