Rating: PG
Runtime: 2 hours
Director: Joe Cornish
Quick Impressions:
When I first saw the theatrical trailer for this movie, I was sold. A guy sneezes into bird form and flies away?!! Some present day British school boys finds Excalibur and fight Morgana?!! Merlin hides out as a teen who works in a fast food chicken joint but at random times shapeshifts into Patrick Stewart??!!
“Oh, my husband will love this!” I knew instantly. (His favorite character on He-Man was the Sorceress bedecked in all her birdy wonder, and he wanted to be an ornithologist as a child, so I was positive that the rapid avian metamorphosis would knock his socks off.)
The only thing that gave me pause was the release date. For years, I’ve made a habit of avoiding (or, at least, expecting nothing of) movies released in January because it’s traditionally such a cinematic dumping ground. (Of course, more recently, January has become an acceptable time to release watchable horror movies, and sometimes fantasy creeps into that category.)
Then I thought, “Okay, this seems to take place in London. I saw the Tower Bridge, the universal cinematic shorthand for London, so maybe it was already released in England, then didn’t come here until January, like Paddington 2 last year.” (And Paddington 2 is an excellent film! Hugh Grant thoroughly deserved that BAFTA nod.)
But no, as it turns out, The Kid Who Would Be King was released here first, and so far, it’s a huge flop (to the tune of like 50 million dollars). Well, of course! Why did Fox release it in January? The release date makes it seem like garbage, but, as a matter of fact, this is a quality family film that most children will probably love (in the unlikely event that they’re taken to see it).
We were thinking about taking our kids, but our weekends have become so full lately now that we’ve started a new family D&D campaign. (Clearly we’re the target audience for this film.)
My original selection for this week was to Peter Jackson’s restored World War I documentary They Shall Not Grow Old, but the showtimes didn’t work well for our schedule, and The Kid Who Would Be King was so magically convenient that it began to call to me.
Then I learned that the film’s writer/director was Joe Cornish, i.e. the guy who made Attack the Block. Remember, remember that amazing sci-fi film where urban teens battle invading space monsters on Guy Fawkes Day? My husband and I do. We loved the design of those aliens, and we were sure that talented new actor John Boyega was going places. (Also, Doctor Who fans, take note. Jodie Whittaker lived on that block, too.)
The Attack the Block connection would have been enough to sell me a ticket. But then, on top of that, I learned that the titular Kid (Who Would Be King) is Louis Ashbourne Serkis, the son of (you guessed it) Andy Serkis.
Plus Rebecca Ferguson plays Morgana, and she was recently cast in that amazing new adaptation of Dune that Denis Villeneuve is directing. (There is no way that movie won’t be awesome. The cast is so inspired–Timothée Chalamet, Oscar Isaac, Stellan Skarsgård, Dave Bautista, Charlotte Rampling…All of the very Duneiest people! That casting director needs a raise.)
How could we not watch The King Who Would Be King with so much to entice us? But before seeing the movie, we didn’t even know the best part!
The Good:
The best part is Angus Imrie who plays the young Merlin (the one who works at the chicken place, remember?).
Angus Imrie. Do not forget that name. I promise you, Angus Imrie is going places. If there’s any justice in the world, he will soon be a big star.
The end credits sped by so quickly that I had to pull out my phone to search for the name of the actor who played young Merlin. Both my husband and I were dying to know.
“Angus Imrie,” I read aloud. “Huh. I wonder if he’s related to Celia Imrie?”
He is. He’s her son. (These days, most Americans will probably recognize Celia Imrie from her role as Madge Hardcastle in The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel, but she’s in all kinds of stuff.)
And his father is Benjamin Whitrow. I didn’t initially recognize the name, but I soon realized that I’m very familiar with this incredibly prolific actor who died in 2017 at the age of 80. He played Mr Bennet in the Colin Firth Pride and Prejudice, and if you’ve ever watched any British TV, I promise that you know Benjamin Whitrow from something.
At any rate, Celia Imbrie and Benjamin Whitlow have produced a very impressive son.
Here’s how amazing he is as Merlin. Imbrie shares the role with Patrick Stewart who is by far the biggest star in this cast and one obvious draw of the movie. And yet whenever Stewart actually appears on screen (which is not often), your immediate response is, “When is that kid coming back? I hope we see him again soon!”
(Note: Imbrie is not actually a kid. He’s twenty-four years old, but the character is supposed to look sixteen.)
The point is, Patrick Stewart is a great actor and an amazing presence, and I love him. And yet I’d rather watch Angus Imbrie play Merlin. My husband felt the same way. That should tell you something about the strength of his performance.
Merlin is definitely the coolest character in the story. He has the coolest costume. (That flowing Led Zeppelin shirt paired with the yellow rain boots–amazing!) He has the coolest powers. (The sneezing into bird form is one of the most delightful special effects I’ve seen in a while. It puts a new (much more positive) spin on the term Bird Flu.) He has the most spooky limitations, and the most intriguing backstory. (I mean, he’s Merlin.)
One thing I loved best about the movie is the motions Merlin uses to practice his magic. I don’t know who came up with those kooky, (literally) hypnotic hand motions, the director or the actor, but the effect is spectacular. The way Merlin summons magic reminds me so much of those dizzyingly intricate handshakes kids exchange with one another to show they’re cool and part of some dexterous in group. Given the setting and themes of the story, I’m positive this is intentional.
As the ever-younger old wizard, Imrie has such amazing charisma and panache. Watching him, I thought, “He’s got the right kind of energy to pull off a part like this on the stage.” He could easily convince us that he’s magical and Other without the use of any special effects. (Incidentally, the effects in this movie are surprisingly good, probably how the movie is managing to take that impressive fifty million dollar loss.)
Imrie’s performance is so charming. He’s such an absolute pleasure to watch. I think children deserve performers who will wholeheartedly commit to the material this way.
Honestly I could write my entire review as a paean to Angus Imbrie. That’s how much I loved his performance. But I’ll quit gushing now and simply urge anyone interested in the material to see his Merlin for yourself.
And the other half of Merlin is good, too (obviously). Another charming aspect of this film is that writer/director Cornish gives all of the most important lines to Patrick Stewart. The actor very rarely appears in the movie, but every time he shows up, he delivers significant lines that reveal the moral of the story, material not only important for the young protagonist to learn, but for every member of the audience to hear, too. This way, we can’t possibly miss the message of the movie. (It’s a little heavy-handed to highlight the message this way, but when your highlighter of choice is Patrick Stewart, who can complain?) Patrick Stewart pointedly tells the story’s moral to us three times, (and, less pointedly, a fourth time). Every time he appears, it is to tell the audience the lesson we should be learning from this film.
So you can’t possibly miss the point. (Somewhat ironically, one message is that hereditary right matters less than character. Whose child you are matters less than who you are, which is kind of funny in a film in which so many central actors have famous actors for parents.)
Louis Ashbourne Serkis (whose mother is also an actor) looks almost exactly like his famous father. (Andy Serkis may have a less famous face than some stars, but I think we’re all pretty familiar with his big, expressive, soulful eyes, and his son has the same eyes.) The younger Serkis a good actor, extremely compelling in the role of young Alex and quite good with the film’s more dramatic material. He conveys emotion extremely well.
Rebecca Ferguson makes an excellent Morgana. Her character design is quite arresting visually. I liked the roots and weeds and enchanted overgrowth of decay. I wish we had seen her ordinary face more often. I’m not sure what to make of her last transformation. It seems to pun on her name (but is that her name? In more recent fictional projects, Morgana’s origin story seems to have shifted).
The other roles are less intense, but most members of the supporting cast give good performances. Dean Chaumoo makes Bedders so pure and sweet. I really liked Rhianna Dorris. Denise Gough is good as Alex’s mom, and his aunt is played by Genevieve O’Reilly, the more recent Mon Mothma.
The movie has plentiful adventure, high stakes, stuff that will make you cry, and also a good bit of humor (including inside jokes related to Arthurian legend or to members of the cast).
And I loved the score by Electric Wave Bureau. It was equal parts Celtic dream, heroic fanfare, and 80s fantasy movie. (There was one moment that reminded me aurally of an episode of Buffy, the Vampire Slayer so much that I wondered if Christophe Beck had written the score. He didn’t. But I did find an article online suggesting he was once attached to the project, so I’m confused.)
Best Scene:
Probably the most powerful scene comes when Serkis’s Alexander runs to a rock by the sea and confides something terrible to his best friend who responds in a surprising way. Then Merlin appears as Patrick Stewart to deliver a rousing message to Alexander and the movie audience. Serkis shows here that he’s quite talented, more than just the son of famous parents, but a good actor in his own right.
I also like the power of the fast food and how Bedders first reacts to Merlin.
Best Scene Visually:
Definitely the coolest effect of the movie is the way Merlin transforms into a bird. Also quite elegant is the training scene with the trees. And later when they wander, lost, into the water, I found myself thinking, “They did a good job imbuing this film with an Arthurian vibe.” I like that hole, too. I’d say the movie’s atmospheric visuals are one of its definite strengths.
Best Action Sequence:
Best for me is the moment when Morgana’s smoldering cavalry goes tumbling into the sea. That’s beautiful (sound strategy, too, even if the thing pursuing you isn’t a supernatural monster).
Although the last big battle did not always hold my attention (because I have the tendency to zone out during involved action scenes, a fault with me, not the film) an incredibly riveting moment comes in the middle of the action at the school.
I absolutely loved every second of Morgana’s conversation with Merlin. It made me wish the less warped Morgana had been given a larger role in the film. It could use another strong female character who is more a woman and less an evil root vegetable with a voice changer. (I wish we’d seen young Morgana encounter old Merlin in a flashback or two, honestly.)
The Negatives:
The movie is too long.
Just now, I tried to think of what I would cut and came up with “the boring parts.”
The ending bit at the school seems the least inspired. Then again, I’m an adult. That part might really, really appeal to children. I can see why it would.
Instead of cutting out any one major section, maybe they could have trimmed a minute here and there.
The four main kids do spend a lot of time fighting each other. Then they do it again. Resolving their need to betray each other seems to take up an awful lot of movie. I understand why these events are necessary thematically (this is about King Arthur, after all), but they do drag.
Also, as I said, an larger role for a more human Morgana would have been nice. And although I liked Rhianna Dorris as Kaye, I don’t understand why the only girl in the movie had to make so many of her choices based on her affection for a boy.
Little children might be scared by some of the dark sorcery, but a bigger problem for the very young would probably be boredom. Two hours is a long time.
Overall:
This would be a wonderful movie to use to introduce children to Arthurian legend or to show to a child already fascinated by the subject. It will give children a taste of Arthurian atmosphere, which might inspire them to read more. But even if your kids couldn’t care less about the Knights of the Round Table, they would still probably enjoy this adventure that stresses the key role children have in shaping the future.
I will probably go back at some point and take my daughter, who is pretty miffed that we went without her the first time. You should go, too. This is a great movie for children. It’s sad that it’s bombing at the box office. (I keep wondering if this is some kind of bookkeeping conspiracy. Does the studio want the film to lose money? What else explains the January release date?)