The Kid Who Would be King

Ten Second Review: A sweet and fun retelling of the classic King Arthur myth. A little jam packed to feel fully satisfying but filled with some really great moments.

King Arthur is about as classic a british tale as you can find. It’s been retold countless times and it is, almost without a doubt, considerably stale at this point! The Kid Who Would be King has taken a pretty successful stab and bringing new life to it by choosing to use the classic myth as little more than background and set dressing for a modern kids adventure film.

Alex Elliot (Louis Ashbourne Serkis) is a young boy living in London. He’s best mates with Bedders (Dean Chaumoo) and they are both tormented by school bullies Lance and Kay (Tom Taylor an Rhianna Dorris). In case it’s not quite clear enough, these names also happen to all be knights of the round table and lead to the main storyline of young Alex having to make alliances with friends and foes to battle the evil Morgana who has been lying dormant waiting to attack. The current turmoil the world finds itself in is the perfect chance for her to strike and Alex will have to inspire his friends to join him on a quest to stop her.

For the most part this film is a really fun romp that would be great for a grandparent to take their grandchild to. There’s enough allusions to the classic myth to keep an older generation happy and the (arguably) pop culture references are basic enough that they will certainly know them (“oh Mario Kart, I’ve heard of that, this is very young and modern”. I’m also sure kids will enjoy the combination of classic fantasy and childish humour, even if they don’t particularly know or care about King Arthur.

I don’t think there’s much here for the audience in between. The script is fairly run of the mill, the comedy is a touch tired (although it does on occasion really strike and well timed chord) and most the acting is bland and not great. There is a touch of “school play acting” that might have been brought on by people telling the kids to really get into it instead of playing it more naturally. A highlight was Merlin played by Angus Imrie. He was a distinctly fun note in the film and felt much more inline with the type of film I imagine they set out to make. He seemed quite at ease and delivers an amusing version of character that I think most would expect to be played differently. I also think it should be said that the film is a little preachy. I get that they might be trying to talk down to a younger audience but it would have saved a lot of time to just shout “BREXIT” and “TRUMP” at the beginning and do away with hiding the specific turmoil that they push throughout.

I would also make mention of the special effects. There were some scenes were you would be mistaken for thinking you were watching some top level Hollywood blockbuster or Game of thrones and others where it looked a little more Scorpion King. When the character design was good and the CGI was on point, there was little else you could ask for. When it wasn’t, the film felt old and very dated. This also lead to some scenes where you felt very involved and present and others where you felt incredibly distant. Again, this might work for kids and an older audience but might not do as well with the audience in between.

I will say that I loved Morgana’s evil army. The design of the figures themselves along with the way they were used in scenes was sincerely creepy for any audience and the film was at its best, and most intense, when they were on screen. I honestly think it was some of my favourite work I’ve seen in a kids film recently.

The film is ok and might be worth seeing as a family if you really need a half-term activity but offers little for wider audiences. It is certainly a kids film, even if it has some dark moments, but I think there have been better films recently that have talked to kids (not down to them) about what they can grow up to be.