Not a bad bit of light entertainment if you forget all about the opening blurb which claims it to be historically based. While there is indeed much research on the subject of the real basis for Arthur, this film matched that research poorly, and compounded it with numerous stereotypes that match the Dark Ages world very poorly.
For a start, the fact that the Empire is withdrawing its last troops from Britain means that this film is set in exactly the year 407 AD, which is approximately a century too early for the other events depicted. And in the fifth century, there were no monks in Britain, the Pope had no authority to command Roman troops, heresy wasn't punishable by death, Pelagius wasn't executed, Artorius Castus and his Sarmatian foederati (who numbered about 2,000 strong) had been dead for two centuries, and I could go on and on but you're probably bored already. The biggest thing though was that by this time, Rome had ruled Britain for 363 years, the Britons considered themselves to BE Romans, and far from wanting to drive Rome out they felt abandoned when the legions left.
Still, if you ignore the claims to being historical, it's OK. The action scenes are fine, Clive Owen's Arthur was nicely acted, and the tactical scenes were unusually good (apart from the modern PC thing of all the female archers).
Minor Spoiler alert:
If everyone was so terrified of travelling north of Hadrian's Wall, what was a noble Roman family doing up there AT ALL, never mind in an unfortified villa with just four guards?
For a start, the fact that the Empire is withdrawing its last troops from Britain means that this film is set in exactly the year 407 AD, which is approximately a century too early for the other events depicted. And in the fifth century, there were no monks in Britain, the Pope had no authority to command Roman troops, heresy wasn't punishable by death, Pelagius wasn't executed, Artorius Castus and his Sarmatian foederati (who numbered about 2,000 strong) had been dead for two centuries, and I could go on and on but you're probably bored already. The biggest thing though was that by this time, Rome had ruled Britain for 363 years, the Britons considered themselves to BE Romans, and far from wanting to drive Rome out they felt abandoned when the legions left.
Still, if you ignore the claims to being historical, it's OK. The action scenes are fine, Clive Owen's Arthur was nicely acted, and the tactical scenes were unusually good (apart from the modern PC thing of all the female archers).
Minor Spoiler alert:
If everyone was so terrified of travelling north of Hadrian's Wall, what was a noble Roman family doing up there AT ALL, never mind in an unfortified villa with just four guards?