Swanner: Alex is just your regular teenager; he always blends into the crowd and fears the mean kids, as we all did. After being chased by some bullies, Alex finds himself in a construction zone where he comes across a sword sticking out of some cement. He pulls the sword out of the stone, and finds that his actions come with big responsibility. A young man appears to him, telling him the sword he has in his possession is Excalibur, and that he is the chosen one. He also warns him that Morgana is trying to take power and Alex’s army must defeat her. The problem is that Alex has no army.
This is one of those fun kids movies I remember when I was a kid. It’s a kids story told from a kids point of view. They’ve started making more of these films once the studios realized there was a big market for the genre. They are also spending more money and it goes to make the films more sell-able to a very critical audience. I love the reboot of the King Arthur story. It’s by far the best I’ve seen in quite a while. I don’t think the fact that this is a British film will be a problem, since the Harry Potter films made billions.
Joe Cornish has some good screenplays (Ant Man, Tin Tin) behind him, so it’s nice see him directing one himself. I think he’s got a talent for it and he wrote a fun script to boot. I liked that the magic is more like the TV series The Magicians, so when Merlin does his spells, it’s more than a flick of a wand. The young cast members are all very likable, and having a young and old Merlin (Angus Imrie and Patrick Stuart) was a good choice. The film has a very diverse cast so there should be someone to relate to. If you find the trailer appealing then give The Kid who would be King and chance this weekend.
Swanner: 3 stars
