Movie Review: "King Arthur: The Legend of the Sword" (2017)

Can I give you a piece of advice about this movie? I hope we trust each other enough for you to listen to your boy, Stu, as it pertains to these matters. Ready? Here we go: study up on Guy Ritchie. Know what you are getting into with this one. 

I don't say that to say that I disliked this movie. Far from it. I fucking loved it. I enjoyed the shit out of myself with this one, but I KNEW what I was getting into. Can you dig that?

Guy Ritchie....where to begin? This is the man who brought you such classics as "Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels" and "Snatch". He gave you the madcap action of "Revolver" and "Rock N' Rolla". He gave you the glossy splendor of BOTH Sherlock movies with Robert Downey, Jr...........say what you will about those movies but they were Auteur 101. The man has a signature that every movie will bear. For Christ's sake, he was married to Madonna. Enough said.

This IS NOT a swords and sorcery epic on the scale of the "Lord of the Rings" trilogy. This is not even on a par with the original "Excalibur" (God bless Helen Mirren's gorgeous boobs). This is a unique entity unto its own. 

Guy Ritchie is the go-to for the British action/comedy/cool as fuck movie. When you combine that with Charlie Hunnam ("Sons of Anarchy") and his signature "thing" you get one hell of a combination. Let's face it, folks: when you see Hunnam, all you are thinking is Jax Teller. Don't lie. It's okay. We all feel that way. No homo. 

I have zero gripes with the liberties that they took with this story. It's hyper action mixed with borderline irreverent comedy. All of the Guy Ritchie staples are here: the story-telling jumps in time, the steady-cam head view running shit, the overblown suspension of disbelief. It makes for one hell of a fun ride. 

And there's not a damn thing wrong with that. Have you ever heard of the term "popcorn flick"? That's what this is. It's fun. It's action packed. It's visually fucking gorgeous. The battle scenes alone are worth their weight in gold. As a child of the 80's (i.e. when VFX were very hampered and SFX were king) I appreciate all that beautiful "artificial" cinematography. Didn't we learn anything from "Lord of the Rings", after all?

I'll keep it short and to the point with this one, because it doesn't require a cubic fuck-ton of verbalization. It's a fucking blast. I know that is a generic statement, but by God it's true. I enjoyed myself. And I'd sell my soul to look like Charlie Hunnam. That shit it patently unfair. My wife is still drooling. 

Go see this shit if you're in the mood for high action and a surprising laugh here and there. I'm giving it a 7.5/10. Good shit.