Some will say that Guy Ritchie was never the same after marrying and divorcing Madonna. The once-proud maker of great crime films like Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels and Snatch has had a rough couple of years creatively, starting with his Robert Downey Jr.-starring Sherlock Holmes films and ending with the fun-yet-frivolous 2015 adaptation of Man from U. N. C. L. E.. However, the newest trailer for his take on King Arthur dropped last night, and let’s just say King Arthur: Legend of the Sword has us pretty curious.
First off, we know it’s pretty early on in the year, but this might be the stupidest after-colon title we’ve seen since The Raid: Redemption. Come on, “Legend of the Sword?” Couldn’t they just have called it King Arthur: Excalibur or something? King Arthur: The Adventure Begins? Even that’d be a step up from this garbage word salad. Secondly, why on Earth do we have to have these stupid pre-teasers embedded at the start of the actual teasers now? Do we actually have people who won’t watch the damn thing if they aren’t impressed by the first five seconds?
Finally, this actually looks kind of cool.
It’s like this movie is what the makers of The Huntsman: Winter’s War dream about when they go to sleep. The action looks fun and propulsive, though if there’s anything Ritchie’s been consistent at both pre- and post-Ciccone, it’s been the fights. Charlie Hunnam remains kind of an unknown quantity (though we think it’s safe to say that pulling out of Fifty Shades of Grey might have been his best career move), despite appearing in Pacific Rim, Inside Llewyn Davis, and seven seasons of Sons of Anarchy, but it looks like he might have the chops to be compelling a compelling protagonist.
Jude Law, who was easily the best part of Ritchie’s Sherlock Holmes movies, is back in the saddle as the evil king that Arthur must go up against, and it’s always fun to watch him chew scenery in a bad guy role. Still, to be frank, we were more excited by the Comic-Con trailer that came out last year, and if you haven’t watched that, you definitely should.
King Arthur: Legend of the Sword claims theater screens near you on May 12.