Checked out the new action/adventure fantasy flick The Kid Who Would Be King.
This is a very 80s throwback kid-friendly flick about a kid who finds out he’s the heir to Excalibur when he pulls it from the stone in modern day England. Merlin shows up as a teenager sometimes and Hobo Patrick Stewart at other times. I guess they couldn’t afford ALL of Captain Picard / Professor X… or couldn’t decide if Stewart would appeal to the tween market… or who knows what. Anyhow, the kid has to recruit his school mates (including the local bullies) to be his new knights of the round table (as long as you extend the table flaps) and stop the the evil Morgana who is returning because our world just sucks (that’s the actual reason).
This is a straight-up kid fantasy flick that you probably shouldn’t take too seriously. Odds of a school of young teens donning partial plate armor and learning to swing a sword in order to defeat an army of hellspawn undead warriors is pretty low… unless you are working on the level of a kid power fantasy. In which case, sure. Why not? Wouldn’t want to get logic in the way of the fun.
And, yeah, the movie is marginally fun for grumpy, crusty olds… and I bet kids will just love it. It’s not too serious, it’s reasonably amusing, and it’s just kind of all around ok. Probably runs a little too long and the PG rating makes the epic battle seem, well, pretty PG. I got a little bored and antsy in the mid parts but the overall conclusion was good enough. I guess.
So, yeah, no reason to run out to see this one unless you have a kid right age or you have a real thing for Arthurian legends. I mean, hey, the Lady in the Lake reminded me a LOT of the film Excalibur… so that was cool. Maybe something funny about Merlin wearing a Led Zeppelin t shirt, I guess. The kid compares himself to Luke Skywalker and Harry Potter so at least it’s aware of old and modern myths. Yeah, you could do worse. I mean, it’s not that recent revival of Robin Hood, at least.
Score: 77