Stars Charlie Hunnam, Astrid Bergès-Frisbey, Djimon Hounsou, Aiden Gillen, Craig McGinlay, Neil Maskell, Tom Wu, with Jude Law and Eric Bona Directed by Guy Ritchie The legend, myths and stories of King Arthur, his knights, Camelot and so on have been adapted to the screen, big and small, numerous time for decades. So when a new version comes along, there’s lots of competitions and comparisons to put it up against. So perhaps, this new version is going to have to step up to the numerous movies, cartoons and TV shows that have come before, and likely be found wanting. However, this is first and foremost a Guy Ritchie film with all his verve, flourishes and overabundance of style carrying through. The idea that this is something like Lord of The Rings crossed with the likes of Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels or Snatch is a pretty apt description. How well you can accept the blending of those concepts may determine how much you’ll enjoy this movie, because it can be quite a jarring experience. And also quite fun and entertaining. First thing to do is to accept this is very much a fantasy movie, and the opening throws that at you very clearly with the massive creatures that might just stomp out the Oliphants from Lord of The Rings. The presence of magic is rampant in this movie with magical beasties and mythical creatures putting in an appearance. Several things that are core to the legend of King Arthur also make their appearances from mages and wizards to the lady of the lake. The nature of Excalibur is also varied, bestowing superhuman powers to its recognised wielder. (you can see some of it in the trailer below). We have Mordred, and Merlin is name dropped often, but the mage on Arthur’s side is an unnamed young woman (Astrid Bergès-Frisbey). Granted, the story seems rushed at times given the amount of ground there is to cover to drive the story from plot point to plot point. The editing, almost typical of Ritchie’s style, serves its purpose to skip through time, like taking Arthur as a kid to being a young man, covering the things that happened to him which help to form his morality and personal code that would define his actions, not to mention a fighting style and ability to fight in the first place. Naturally, the downside of that is we occasionally skip through aspects of the story we wished it could take a little more time. Still, Charlie Hunnum makes for a charismatic Arthur, enough for us to believe he would draw the loyalty of his friends almost naturally. He also stands out from the crowd thanks to his bleached blonde hair, pale complexion and mostly white clothes occasionally covered with a massive fur-lined leather coat. Being surrounded by some other stellar performers from Aiden GIllen and Djimon Hounsou to Jude Law and Eric Bana helps to bring some gravitas to the proceedings. One massive benefit to the movie is the amazing score by Daniel Pemberton. The music matches the verve of Ritchie’s visual, and some of Pemberton’s vocalised aspects of his score brings a different kind of energy to most of the scenes where the action is concerned. This is, of course, also in addition to the production design, which gives us a very different Camelot form anything that’s graced the screens before. There are numerous worlds to wonder from the streets of Londinium to the forests, caves, and the dark worlds. In all, a solid Fantasy environment. As a whole, Ritchie delivers an entertaining romp of an adventure, but some may take issue with the pacing or the overall structure of the plot. While this is reportedly the first of planned six movie franchise, how well it’s received is down to the individual. I can see it appealing to audiences who will enjoy the movie, and at the same time I can see it being critically mauled and universally hated. After all, this is a Guy Ritchie film and his unique take on the legend, and not everyone is going to like it. I think this is one that will hold up in the very long run as a unique and individualistic take on the myth. While there are things to complain about, there’s more to be enjoyed and appreciated. Rating: ***1/2 / 5 Find the best online deals here. | Barnes and Noble | Google Play Store | Book Depository Discover more about the books here.
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Stars Michael Fassbender, Katherine Waterston, Billy Crudup, Danny McBride, Demian Bichir, Carmen Ejogo, Jussie Smollet, Callie Hernandez Directed by Ridley Scott There has to be something about these movies that keeps drawing Ridley Scott back to them. Maybe it’s because he gets to play within this universe again, or maybe there is something in the stories that is of great interest to him. Perhaps it’s that need to explore the universe as science fiction does, to present an idea or concept that explores the meaning of being human; to define our place in the universe; that there are monsters out there. Also apparently, once or twice is just not enough. With Alien: Covenant, there is a sense the pattern began in Prometheus is taking shape and the Xenomorph that we’ve known for decades now is coming to light. The why and how are explored here, and that just raises a whole host of other questions. So, yes, this is a somewhat direct sequel to Prometheus set some ten years later. The titular Covenant is a colony ship with over 2000 colonists and embryos (literally) in frozen stasis on their way to a remote planet. A cosmic mishap brings the crew out of hibernation 7 years early and the prospect of a nearby habitable planet is too enticing to pass up. The movie plays into its science fiction roots here as the crew decide to explore the lien world unaware of the dangers that await them, dangers that might be more familiar to the audience, and therein lies a small part of the problem taking the movie away from its horror beginnings. We know what to expect even though the crew is different. What makes it a little more interesting is the continued exploration of ideas set up in Prometheus. In that, it’s Michael Fassbender’s show, playing two variations of the same character and he carries the plot for the most part. The emotional journey is left to the rest of the cast, but therein lies another problem. We have hints about their relationships and it’s clear that the crew is made up of couples, but we don’t have much time to get to know them. An online prologue (see below) gives a better sense of their camaraderie, clearly setting up the likes of Daniels (Katherine Waterston), Tennessee (Danny McBride) and Oram (Billy Crudup) in particular, while many of the expendable crew seem almost interchangeable. Still, we have enough to care a little about them, but none of them really stood out to me. A couple of uncredited cameos do register tho, pushing certain plot points for clarity far more effectively than expected. With Ridley Scott at the helm, the scope and scale of both the movie and the story is impressive as one might expect. I can’t say if there are any effective jump scares as horror movies would have, but the idea of alien worlds being dangerous (and in reflection to our own world) can be scary in its own way. The tonal atmosphere is muted almost in line with its predecessor, and the music by Jed Kurzel is very evocative of Jerry Goldsmith’s Alien score, perhaps a little too faithful. Then again, we are closing in on that classic film, even the titles here reflect that. Scott is obviously building something here and it’s likely we have one more movie to come that will bring us closer to LV-426. There are questions abound given rise by the event here and answers need to be forthcoming in order to bring things full circle… unless Scott has built an alternate universe to the Alien films we already know. Still, as a science fiction film, it does present some interesting ideas that could garner speculations and discussion over the actions of the characters, but yes… questions, questions… how are we to truly know the mind of this individual, this… architect, and what’s his endgame? In that lies an effective science fiction tale; whether it make a great movie or an effective horror flick as some might expect, is debatable. Rating: ***1/2 / 5 Find the best online deals here. | Barnes and Noble | Google Play Store | Book Depository Discover more about the books here. The first prologue, not part of the movie. The Second Prologue (potential spoiler, be warned) featuring dialogue from the movie, partially incorporated into the movie, answers one question of many more. |
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