Wed., Jul. 7, 2004 12:00 AM PDT
Neither knights nor
Keira Knightley's exposed navel can save this medieval mess. In an attempt to put the legend of King Arthur into historical context (somewhere between the fall of the Roman Empire and the Dark Ages, in case you're keeping score), this movie strips most of the magic and fantasy out of the tale. Arthur (
Clive Owen) and his heavy-metal-wearing pals are forced to work for a nasty Catholic cardinal and (action-movie alert!) have
one more mission before being set free.
In the process of becoming heroes, they run across a barbarian-like Knightley and a forest-dwelling hobo-like version of Merlin. But the movie is as dreary as the British Isles' weather, and the toned-down fight scenes (for that PG-13 rating) make it hardly better than a made-for-cable historical movie. Not to mention that Owen--who has displayed a cool tough-guy charm in smaller flicks--is
so not the blockbuster action-hero type.
King for a day? Not even close.
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