Today I am reviewing the most surprising movie I have seen in awhile. I saw the trailer for this movie and said to myself, damn another Arthur movie, and its with kids?

After walking out of the theatre though I realized Director Joe Cornish really did the best he could with the material. This was only Cornish’s second movie (first was Attack the Block) and I hope he continues to make more, he has a unique feel to his first two attempts.

This movie is about Alexander Elliot (Played by son of Andy Serkis Louis Ashborne Serkis) and his quest to live up to the legend of King Arthur. He finds a “sword in the stone” and through some enjoyable hijinx, we meet Merlin (played by Angus Imrie) who teaches Alex about Morgana (“Morgan La Fay” played by Rebecca Ferguson) and the threat she brings to the world. He can also do this!

Alex teams up with his friends Bedders (aka Sir Bedivere played by Dean Chaumoo), Kaye (aka Sir Kay played by Rhianna Doris), and Lance (aka Lancelot played by Tom Taylor) to form their own Knights of the round table. The crew must find a way to stop Morgana before the time runs out (CAN THEY DO IT?)

The real fun in this movie lies in the genius of a fresh take on an aged old story. One really fun scene is the kids learning how to fight by Merlin enchanting some trees.

That is just one example of the overall joys of this movie. I also think they found some great actors for the roles because the chemistry between the group was seamless. Louis Ashbourne Serkis in particular was really good as the main character. He plays the role with confidence the entire time and I was very impressed.

Of course, this movie has some moments where you roll your eyes and think oh yeah I have seen this before. However, most of those pass quickly and you get back to enjoying just being in this world, with these people.

*A couple other tidbits

• Rebecca Ferguson is a rising star and did the best she could with a smaller role.
• Angus Imrie steals this movie in my opinion, every time he is on the screen you cannot take your eyes off what he is doing. I am really looking forward to whatever he chooses to do next.

• Oh yeah when Merlin sneezes sometimes he is Patrick Stewart

This was a very enjoyable movie about a story we have seen and heard a thousand times. That is not an easy task, so Joe Cornish, please make more movies.

78/100

*As always all of my movie ratings can be found here.