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The Kid Who Would Be King
Adventure, Fantasy
From The LEGO Movie to The Last Jedi, we’ve entered an age of upending traditional hero mythology—and here’s another welcome addition to that canon. Writer/director Joe Cornish tells the story of Alex (Louis Ashbourne Serkis, son of Andy), a 12-year-old British schoolboy who improbably finds himself wielding Excalibur, and leading a quest to prevent the rise of the sorceress Morgana (Rebecca Ferguson), with a ragtag crew of young Round Table knights. Cornish doesn’t show the same sense of pacing that he did in his debut feature Attack the Block, as the two-hour kid pic drags a bit on the way to its big finish. But the appealing young cast—including Angus Imrie as a geekily enthusiastic young Merlin—provides some welcome energy, and the battles against flaming demon skeletons are solidly rousing. Mostly, there’s a satisfying Brexit-era insistence on the need for a basic code of decency, and an inspirational message to young viewers: The big battles can be won by those who work together and simply refuse to let the powerful bad guys win—and you don’t need to be a Chosen One to change things.
Official Site: www.foxmovies.com/movies/the-kid-who-would-be-king
Director: Joe Cornish
Producer: Nira Park, Tim Bevan, Eric Fellner, James Biddle and Rachael Prior
Cast: Louis Serkis, Rebecca Ferguson, Patrick Stewart, Dean Chaumoo, Tom Taylor, Rhianna Dorris, Angus Imrie and Denise Gough
Director: Joe Cornish
Producer: Nira Park, Tim Bevan, Eric Fellner, James Biddle and Rachael Prior
Cast: Louis Serkis, Rebecca Ferguson, Patrick Stewart, Dean Chaumoo, Tom Taylor, Rhianna Dorris, Angus Imrie and Denise Gough
