MovieBob Reviews - KING ARTHUR: LEGEND OF THE SWORD

[@michaelkemel9711]

The best King Arthur movie in recent years that I've seen would probably have to be the first Thor.

[@firefly4f4]

This was sounding really generic until Bob said, "good witch Guinevere," at which point I think my head snapped back so hard I got a concussion. That's just... WHAT???

[@thanotosomega]

I know right? if you want to make her more important to the plot just go back to when she was a badass,

[@firefly4f4]

Turns out, after watching this trainwreck, she's never actually called Guinevere. She's only ever referred to as, "The Mage", both in movie and in the credits. I guess you could argue she's a Guinevere stand-in, but I didn't really see it. That's not to make excuses for her, though. She's good looking enough, but her character is just a living ex-machina for whenever the heroes need saving. She doesn't really do much of anything except contribute to some very confusing scene where Aurthur goes to some magical island to place the sword on an alter and yeah I had no idea what was happening.

[@thenewniccage2283]

'It won't make any sense unless you already know a lot of the king Arthur story, and it'll royally piss you off if you do.' Exactly what I expected. Paradoxically the best adaptation of the authentic Medieval King Arthur material will probably always be Monty Python and the Holy Grail. Despite being an absurd comedy, Monty Python absolutely did their homework on medieval storytelling (hell, Terry Jones published a credible serious book about Chaucer's poetry) and it definitely shows. Being a comedy also helps deal with the various problems which make doing Arthur on film quite challenging to do, because you can substitute humour for sensible and fleshed-out plotting.

[@nifralo2752]

True, modern audiences need everything to be rationalized. So they just won't accept things like the lady in the lake or the Green Knight. This is also why a direct adaptation of any big Bible story is unlikely.

[@ThierryVerhoeven]

Was Astrid Bergès-Frisbey's character really supposed to be Guinevere? She's never mentioned by name and credited simply as 'Mage'. For a while I actually believed she was going to be revelead to be Morgan(a), which would make a lot more sense.

[@MariusBlack]

I see, the star counter was busted from the last time. Nice one Bob, keep it up! :D

[@pablodonner5213]

So Mordred is an evil wizard, Morrigan is a guy and the brother of Uther, and Gwinnevere is a sorcerer, bloody hell men if we keep going this way the best interpretation of Arthur is going to be that anime where he was a 16 years old girl

[@Lunictd]

Arturia Pendragon/Saber IS the best interpretation of King Arthur! (Thanks for that Fate/Franchise reference!)

[@lukehodge9026]

Uther's brother is Vortigern in the film.

[@thanotosomega]

umm Excalibur Bob mentioned it in the video, it's pretty great,

[@divineknight9261]

EXU-CALIBAAAAAAA Saber is the fucking best King Arthur

[@Lunictd]

Thank you! Bow to her Majesty the King, all of you!

[@Neukku]

Hah one star joke! You know, Bob gave GoG.Vol2 4 stars but accidentally used 1 star graphics :D

[@alearnedman]

I think he gave it 3 though.

[@mabusestestament]

Yeah three. Which probably means two, if the stars allign two-and-a-half stars for me.

[@allnorweiganwood]

That should just be the running gag now. Never show the correct amount of stars. "Two stars, don't bother"....eleven stars come up

[@mandilomanuesol4576]

oh just listening to the description of the movie is painfull as hell! it's the first time i have to stop in the video to cry on the arthurian legend...

[@davidandersson7642]

Haha. Good review, but I'm commenting for the star-meter joke. 👍

[@Impling]

The star joke got me.

[@Genguidanos]

"Well, I think so Brain, but if they had the giant snake the whole time, why didn't they use it right away?"

[@louisduarte8763]

Uh...Silence, Pinky! [bonk on the head]

[@Valkris84KT]

Excalibur was the best Arthur movie ever made, and if you like more magic Merlin back story the 2 part tv special mini series Merlin(1998) was just as good.

[@Shimamon27]

I kept feeling as if I was the only one in the universe to have seen that show x.x It was good :D

[@Valkris84KT]

LOL! I know what you mean. I've talked about it in the past with friends who look at me like who? The guy from Jurassic Park was Merlin?

[@herofromthedark]

Wow! I haven't thought about that movie in forever! I really liked so much about it. Even Martin short's character and his love interest were interesting. I didnt like them, but their deaths did make me sad. That's some good writing.

[@Light-Rock97]

That growing up montage was worth the price of the ticket for me.

[@elgostine]

when i saw the trailers, i did actually like the 'lock stock 2 smoking barrels' styl;e of movie idea being set in the medieval period i could REALLY see that sort of movie work in like, the backstreets of renaissance italy as part of ezios early years getting into shenanigans

[@louisduarte8763]

Say what you will about the 4th Pirates of the Caribbean, I say it was better than the third one. Well, that's unfortunate to hear, especially since Ritchie gave us two awesome Sherlock Holmes movies. And I kinda liked how the 2004 one tried to make everything about King Arthur feel like real history. He wears Roman armor, his Knights of the Round Table are heavy cavalry, his castle is a fortress on Hadrian's Wall, Merlin's a Druid, Excalibur is his dad's sword he pulled from his headstone, Guinevere's a Celtic princess, and they're fighting the invading Saxons as the Romans are leaving Britain.

[@1krani]

I shall now go see this, EXCLUSIVELY so Bob must watch another one in two years.

[@louisduarte8763]

How delightfully evil of you.

[@AmaranthOriginal]

Or masochistic.

[@1krani]

Well, I _am_ a huge fan of The Toxic Avenger. And Sergeant Kabukiman. And Help! The Movie (the one with the Beatles, that is). _And_ I still hold Raul Julia's Street Fighter as the greatest video game movie I've ever seen in my life.

[@NickPiers]

The star rating system is trying to go into business for itself. I, for one, look forward to the new version of this show: Starel & Bobert. (Ugh. I'm sorry. That sounded funnier in my head. It was meant to be a play on Siskel & Ebert.)

[@HiddenDragon555]

Nice save with the broken star thingy gag.

[@alnu8355]

You want a good King Arthur story? Watch the Mini-Series Merlin with Sam Niel. Yeah it's a little dated but it has Rutger Hower, Helena Botham Carter, Martin Short, James Earl Jones, and lots more.

[@det.bullock4461]

God, I knew from the first trailer this was gonna suck, but hearing that plot... HOLY SHIT, why? WHY!? *groan* do they need crazy hippies like Boorman to maintain a bit of basic respect for the source material? I mean, COME ON.

[@RonanLeroyLK]

Same reaction. Seems like they used names from Arthurian legends with a plot that has nothing to do with them. I mean, if Mordred is not Arthur’s son but is already an adult when Arthur is a toddler, why have this character be Mordred at all?

[@freedomseekr]

Because then it's "legit King Arthur Stuff BRAH". Seriously, from the description this sounds like generic fantasy stuff which, when doing a search-and-replace session in MS Word could as well be a Twilight Prequel. Or something with samurai. Or whatever you want.

[@Imperiused]

So, what was the last good King Arthur movie?

[@DetectiveLance]

It might be because of Charlie Hunnam, I was looking at it as King Arthur by way of Sons of Anarchy

[@Mephistophelolz]

I'm really looking forward to "LEGEND OF TH SWORD"

[@wenweru1]

1:45 Baby Jesus is the one that floated down the river to avoid being killed...

[@wdcain1]

The best King Author movie we've gotten since the original _Excalibur_ was "Camelot 3000" of _DC's Legends of Tomorrow_. That five minute sword fight between Ray Palmer and Damien Darhk in full knight armor is simply fantastic and made me fanboy.

[@thedashboard9562]

I'm beginning to think my early college days obsession with Guy Richie was just a phase. I haven't liked a thing he's done in a long while.

[@Johnny0lovely69]

not even Man from U.N.C.L.E

[@thedashboard9562]

That movie was boring as fuck, not to mention a tonally inconsistent, almost incoherent mess.

[@markchapman6800]

There was at least one scene in Man from U.N.C.L.E when I thought "Have your fun, just let me know when I'm again supposed to know what's happening".

[@theblocksays]

I only enjoy watching SNATCH tbh, that still holds up, maybe he's just a one-trick pony who made it work once. Kinda like Shyamalan.

[@Johnny0lovely69]

theblocksays what about Lock, Stock, and two smoking barrels

[@boopagm8275]

0:12 because they didn't have the snake since they didn't know it was there till Arthur went and Arthur needed to be in the state he was at in order to summon it. Also it's a giant snake that unless the mage did what she did to him. It would have killed him too

[@tymepilot]

THANKYOU MOVIEBOB! for your awesome reviews 🥇🥇🥇🥇🥇

[@MightySavagE]

oh damn... Well, gonna watch it anyway. Always stoked for more Ritchie!

[@Jayfive276]

Also David Beckham has a cameo in this. For reasons.

[@Crosshair250]

Loved the Star rating joke Bob.

[@Emplordxiii]

Two years? We're getting another movie with Arthurian Legend next month with Transformers 5.

[@tanman729]

ah the last king arthur movie, infamously adding 2 cup sizes to kiera knightly in the posters

[@rodefshalom]

Bob, the reason not to use a giant snake right away is obvious: you need a little foreplay first.

[@carucath97]

I'd like an adaptation of Arthur from the Mabinogion (where he fights the Saxons and is Celtic rather than Medieval) - the original Arthur.

[@samuraichameleon]

I knew almost nothing about King Arthur going into this movie and wasn't confused at all and I really enjoyed it . . . I don't understand what there is to be confused about. The plot is about as simple as you get.

[@insanefantheoriesthatarepr8722]

My brain fried at "good witch Guinevere"…

[@americanadian]

Good review Bob, and that star-meter joke was funny.

[@DeniseFaraday]

Poor Bobby...Wish I can give you some hugs and kisses to make you feel better. Much love from a fan in Miami! XOXO

[@Hydra572HQ]

I'm glad this show got bumped up to five and a half minutes; the three minute episodes were good but they felt rushed.

[@matthieurheaume]

4 stars for that 1 star joke

[@benroberts7748]

love the star reference bit , 1* dammit, I meant 4****

[@docklife4696]

Why haven't you been on movie fights?!

[@Ce1es]

So your scale does not include zero stars?

[@MichaelAPede]

I love the self-aware 1 star at the end. Keep taking yourself just seriously enough.

[@roxdu]

There are some movies that lose a lot of appeal if you don't see them on a big screen with good sound. Imagine seeing the recent Mad Max at home on a regular (poor) monitor and no surround sound system? This movie is the same. Seeing it at the cinema, I felt I got my money's worth just from the first 15 minutes. I was happy enough just from those first 15 minutes, no matter what was gonna come next, and what came next did not make me regret seeing the movie.

[@StormAlterWorlds]

"I said ONE STAR." Hahahaha! *dies*

[@Fr8monkey]

Always thought it would be cool to review movies for a living; but I forget 75% of them suck and you have to watch them too... Thanks for taking the bullet for me, MovieBob!

[@mabusestestament]

Boohoo ;)

[@Brian_Boru]

Just put in Kingdom of Heaven Director's Cut if you're craving a modern sword epic done right.

[@tadmrozowski5260]

No Alien review?

[@Gyrono]

Anyone else want them to do a TV/Movie version of the Jack Whyte version?

[@carsonbarlow348]

The movie is much, much deeper than you know. I'm still chewing on the philosophy that I picked up on from the third time I saw it. Perhaps it is what you bring to the experience, I suppose...

[@fornogoodreason551]

that ending^^ mwa. Bravo Bob.

[@RastafarianPilgrim]

KENG AHTHA! Never stop being you, Bob

[@LordSvzklx]

how long do we have to sit through gritty reboots before we start getting campy reboots of things? like a king arthur film where they don't try and make all the magic and mythology 'grounded' and 'realistic' but instead just have dudes with magic swords fighting dragons and feeling good about it?

[@M17-s7b]

Idris Elba, Rinko Kikunchi and giant robots are gonna overshadow anyone

[@BigT4489]

I guess Bob and I saw a different movie, cuz I enjoyed this movie a lot. He is right, the Guy Richie does street hoodlums editing bits where the best, but I didn't mind the rest of the film, I liked it all. And they never specifically said the girl was Gwennivere so there is that. I enjoyed the movie regardless.

[@nasserharbi7839]

I love when Dark Souls is referenced in whatever video.

[@zvimur]

The Mage is nameless, and frankly was more Morgan la Fey than Guinevere. The Soundtrack was quite good (and LOUD!).

[@denelian116]

SO -- If one can somehow purge their brain, temporarily, of any knowledge of the Arthur Mythos, is there anything worth watching here [is the train wreck at least amusing?] not that i think i can *DO* that. i had enough trouble reading 'The Mists of Avalon', which is arguably a pretty awesome reinterpretation...

[@1987MartinT]

Wait. People don't like Jude Law?

[@Resonants]

Watched this a year later and I must say... not that bad.. Grab a couple of cold ones and ejoy it for what it is - a Guy Richie medieval romp with Jax from Sons of Anarchy. :D

[@poihpioakarp8845]

they way you described the plot sounds so weirdly similar to Disney's Hercules

[@TheCreepypro]

I figured as much wasn't expecting too much out of Guy Ritchie

[@thenewniccage2283]

Also the only thing this ever had going for it was that they got Sam Lee to record songs for it. Sam Lee is absolutely and unequivocally the correct choice to provide music for a King Arthur movie and I might end up picking up the soundtrack just for his songs. Given how terrible the rest of the material is handled I'm still slightly amazed that they managed to make such an appropriate choice.

[@Shepherd174]

I'm really starting to wonder if I was the only person who actually liked the Clive Owen King Arthur movie.

[@rvrmdude]

where is the alien covenant review

[@RonanLeroyLK]

I’m just going to watch Kaamelott again.

[@neilprice513]

Why do people feel the need to mess around with the King Arthur story? The original mythical tale is epic enough without them ruining it. The adaptation of this story that has kept closest to it's source material is the "Merlin" TV Mini-series from the 90's staring Sam Neill and they were going from "Loosely based on..." sort of thing.

[@dacresni]

looks like you had to see another one in ONE year in Robin Hood

[@Gojiragon]

Here’s a way to make a this movie better: 1: Colour everything up. 2: hire a screenwriter who at least knows how to have fun 3: make it the 3 movies intended.

[@brynnplant]

King Arthur: Urban Hipsters LARPing

[@ChumblesMumbles]

Bob, you gotta lead off with flowers and dinner and drinks first. You don't just whip out the giant snake right away. Be a gentleman.

[@herofromthedark]

To be honest, despite the generic-ness of the premise, I'm a big sucker for these types of movies. Even playing fast and loose with the lore is okay, as long as you do it well, or comedically. But it sounds like this film takes itself too seriously to like.

[@LungsOutJem]

Thank you, MovieBob. I've known this thing was garbage from the day the trailer premiered. I appreciate your confirmation.

[@darronperryjr.3171]

lol Good nod to last weeks graphic mistake.

[@divineknight9261]

So the most interesting version of King Arthur of the last 20 years is still the one where the Japanese asked "What if Arthur had actually been a girl in disguise", got it.

[@spencerpommier806]

it sounds fine

[@Talwyn22]

I'm glad that there are people like Bob who bravely take the bullet for the public, in this instance warning us not to waste ur time & money on steaming crap-fests like this. I remember seeing the trailer and it looked awful but now my summation has been vindicated. If someone wants to do a King Arthur film, remake The Once & Future King

[@alabamashuffle]

The best movie ever... i love it... i need to meet Guy Ritchie...incredible...

[@pizzapicante27]

I liked the last King Arthur movie, I'll probably like this one.

[@ArcaneAzmadi]

Nice nod to your star meter malfunctioning last week, Bob.

[@CrimsonTemplar2]

Thanks for the warning Bob.

[@FNGLHR]

From the first few seconds: Wait I don't understand, so the cops knew internal affairs were setting them up?

[@ThePhudD]

There is only one King Arthur movie worth watching and it's not Excalibur, it's something completely different.

[@1987MartinT]

Why was this a King Arthur movie? It follows Arthurian myth so loosely that it could easily have been its own thing.

[@WooMaster777]

Damn star rating meter is glitching out again. 😁

[@loonachan]

If I ever become fabulously rich I'm going to finance an extremely historically accurate King Arthur movie, complete with dead languages and nude celtic warriors.

[@cklambo]

Wow filming yourself talking into a camera is hard work! Doing 2 in one day??? Please don't strain yourself too much bob, health is the most important thing in life.

[@thetribunaloftheimaginatio5247]

Soooo... at least as good as "Krull," then. Which was also dumber than a bag of hammers, but a favorite of mine from way back. I'm a little more forgiving when it comes to action-beats and cinematography, and at least THIS King Arthur movie has magic and monsters... yay for magic and monsters!

[@Adrian21]

Well, it bombed, so that's good, right?

[@geoffreywinn4031]

Thanks!

[@Aiddon]

Richie needs to stop doing blockbusters.

[@oberstul1941]

This sounds cool. Now I gotta check it out. Dial back on the hate there, bobby!

[@Aldo_raines]

I plan on red boxing this for Schadenfreude.

[@SaurAuteur]

You have to be careful of when and where you use your giant snake Don't get up I'll see myself out

[@butchdeadlift10]

Never get less authentic to the mythology than Fate Stay/Night or Quest for Camelot

[@shadowscribe]

How convenient you got a 1 star to carry through the GoG mistake.

[@mrtalos]

Thumb up purely for acknowledging the mistake from last week.

[@jamaneee]

I liked the King Arthur, this time it's Roman Britain though, movie