I just saw King Arthur and I have to say I loved it!  I'm into a lot of Arthurian themed films or sword/sandals films and since Boorman's Excalibur, I have never felt that grand epic mythical legendary film/story until this new film.  And that is what I love about Excalibur, and I use the same descriptive words - grand, epic, badass, legend, & myth - these are all the things I loved about the underrated Excalibur.  And since that film, every other Arthurian film was made in a more realistic manner, which THE 2004 version is the biggest culprit.  It seems people today unless it's straight out fictional, want every single film to be grounded in reality to the point where you make no room for magic, for myths or legends, or for fantasy/fairy tales.  The legend of King Arthur is more than a love story  - First Knight - or some bland realistically themed Roman General - the 2004 version, - and of course there's the musical Camelot with the great Richard Harris which was the very first Arthurian film I ever saw but never really cared for (especially Lancelot - ech!).  The story of King Arthur is an epic legend from some far away distant ancient land of how a boy rose to become a great King and died in the same mythical tragic yet grand manner.  It's reminiscent of the many fables and myths in every cultural past/traditions, it's almost biblical even, like Samson, Solomon, or King David.  Myths and legends are not realistic stories, they are stories meant to move the mind, the passions, & your imagination, they are there to entertain, to have a moral lesson, to be an example of masculine integrity & honor despite human frailties & faults, and it's sad that people dismiss such vital integral things which made the myth & legend of Arthur endure & flourish to have that bland, tasteless, corpse of the 2004 version.  Boorman's Excalibur remains the best because it embraces our inner childhood, our ancient longings & superstitions, & our wild & expansive imagination that every other version discards until the 2017 version.

I honestly was never going to see this 2017 film until it came out on bluray or until it appeared on Netflix.  Why?  Well, the marketing & ads for this film were not as persistent or as good as many of the other Disney flicks.  It seemed like another generic action film. The trailer itself did not recommend the film though there have been other films I loved that had abysmal trailers - The 13th Warrior - another underrated McTiernan film.  I saw the film simply because Chris Stuckman gave it a good review and you know what? I loved it far more than he did and unlike Chris, I see no fault in the plot or the script.  In fact, I found it to be quite tight.  I loved how the Mage referenced or asked Arthur "if he turned away (in one of his visions)" & that "we all turn away but that is what separates a man from a king."  - and we get this catharsis, this closing of the circle when he realizes what that meant in that vital moment and it's one of the most exhilarating things I have felt in a film.  Jude Law was fantastic in this and I loved him as a villain.  A hero is only as good as its villain & many films have weak villains, look at the new Star Trek films.   Questions on the killings he does but is heart broken to do, the defeat/loss of Excalibur are all answered at the right moment, when it is the most satisfying.  The use of the musical score is so effective and used so well & so precisely that it gets your blood pumping, I have never felt that in any ANY other Arthurian film except in Excalibur when O FORTUNA plays.  And this film is different enough from Excalibur in style, plot, & telling while remaining true to the spirit & epic grandness of Excalibur that it is fresh, new, & exciting!  And let's not forget the montages, the MONTAGES!  I absolutely loved them!  Anyone who says they don't love them in the Rocky films is lying.  These montages used in the Rocky series gets your blood fuelled, it makes you want to imitate the protagonist, & it remains in our collective consciousness because it is effective & blood inducing.  Unfortunately montages today are remnants of the past, of the 80s galore (Rocky films, even Scarface), & are avoided like the plague because it was seen as excessive and quintessentially an 80s style.  But Ritchie has brought it back here and I revel in it! REVEL!  I was grinning stupidly watching this film, especially in those montages.  It takes a lot of guts to do something people have dismissed for almost 30 years and to bring it back & do it effectively.  I firmly believe that King Arthur (2017) will be considered one of the underrated classics, trashed on its release but will be a beloved film as time goes on.  An underrated classic amongst - The Thing (1980), Excalibur, Apocalypto, The 13th Warrior, Dark City, Unbreakable, Empire of the Sun, Scarface (1983).

It is a pity though that this was to be the first installment of a 6 series film, one I would love to have but I don't think we will ever get, that (& like Unbreakable upon it's release & planned trilogy) it is heartbreaking.

If anyone wants to have a taste of a good, a great Arthurian film, I highly recommend this new film & Excalibur, Mists of Avalon is also a very good miniseries which focuses more on Morgana (Arthur's sister) and where Arthur is but some side character.