Reviews

With the rich tapestry of Arthurian legend to build on, I was disappointed at just how bad this film actually turned out to be. It's not often I can't watch a whole movie, but in this case 20 minutes was my limit. Perhaps it gets better from there on in, but I was bored from the start.

To ignore the myths and legends of Celtic and Roman culture was a mistake from the start. They seem to have gotten the time period right but ignored everything else. No mention is made of bards or the bardic arts, Merlin becomes nothing more than a barbarian, and for reference, the Woads never existed. The barbarian forces that would have been facing Arthur and the Britons would have been a combination of Picti, Scotti, Angli, Saecsen, and the Irish, not some mythical force.

Instead, we get a miserable plot that could have been strung together by any idiot (a Roman settlement above Hadrian's Wall? Get real!) and a whole host of other problems (oddly enough, plate armour was hard to come by - indeed, most warriors at that time would have had to settle for chainmail, or even just leather!).

Check the history books next time! If anyone's thinking of making a movie along these lines, I recommend Stephen Lawhead's excellent Pendragon Cycle as reference material. It may not be entirely accurate but it weaves history and legend into a stunning tapestry - an act that this movie failed in.

This was one of the best films I've seen lately. Mandy Moore shone in her role as Jamie Sullivan, although never to the point where she became unbelievable. Her singing was fabulous, but it was clear that this was not a film about her singing - too many pop artists starring in films wind up in films about their pop careers, whether real or inferred.

The storyline was VERY good. I can't say too much without spoiling it for everyone else, but take my word for it. You absolutely must watch this film at some point - make sure you grab plenty of tissues though, because if you don't get emotional towards the end, you must have a heart of stone.

All in all, fantastic.

I have to start this review by saying that this is one of the most cringeworthy films I have EVER seen. From start to finish, the poor production values and bad script held it back from being what it should have been... ie, funny, slapstick, cartoon-style comedy. I was almost bored enough to go to sleep, and apart from one or two places here and there I didn't laugh at all.

The cast did the best they could with an absolutely terrible script, and the storyline was almost non-existent. I simply can't believe they didn't can this film after realising how bad it was going to be. The CGI was terrible - the lighting was all wrong, and none of it fit in properly. Maybe that was intended, but in my eyes it just looked awful and impaired my enjoyment of the film (not that I was enjoying it anyway, you understand).

And for a final groan - why the hell did they bother creating the love interest between Fred and Daphne? Why, why, why? Every time I see a Hollywood film, there always has to be a love interest, and frankly that really annoys me. There was no need for it.

Absolutely terrible. Excuse me, I need to go vomit now, and send it to Warner Bros. They'll probably think it's gold or something, after all their judgement must be terrible given that they released this awful movie.