Poster © Roadshow Films. Shown at reduced size for review and commentary.
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GenreAction, Adventure & Drama
RatedPG-13
Runtime2 hr 6 mins
ReleasedMay 12, 2017
StreamingSee Where to Watch
DirectorGuy Ritchie
StarringCharlie Hunnam, Àstrid Bergès-Frisbey, Djimon Hounsou
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King Arthur: Legend of the Sword (2017)
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| King Arthur: Legend of the Sword's Details | |
| Genre | Action, Adventure & Drama |
| Rated | PG-13 |
| Released | 05/08/2017 (TCL Chinese Theatre); 05/12/2017 (United States); 05/19/2017 (United Kingdom) |
| Streaming | See Where to Watch on this page. |
| Running Time | 2 hr 6 mins |
| Budget | $175M (reported) |
| Box Office | Updated daily from Box Office Mojo. See the numbers below. |
| Country | Australia, United Kingdom, United States |
| Language | English |
| King Arthur: Legend of the Sword's Interests | |
| General | Swords in stones, Londinium back alleys, Camelot, mages, plans explained at top speed. |
| Music | Daniel Pemberton. Loud, rough and very Guy Ritchie. |
| Movies | Excalibur (1981), the old-school legend. Snatch (2000), the Ritchie fast talk. |
| Television | Merlin. Same legend, way more wholesome. |
| Heroes | Goosefat Bill (Aidan Gillen). That name alone. |
| King Arthur: Legend of the Sword's Crew | |
| Director | Guy Ritchie |
| Writers | Joby Harold, Guy Ritchie, Lionel Wigram, David Dobkin (story), Joby Harold (story) |
| Producers | Akiva Goldsman, Joby Harold, Tory Tunnell, Steve Clark-Hall, Guy Ritchie, Lionel Wigram |
| Cinematography | John Mathieson |
| Music | Daniel Pemberton |
| Edited By | James Herbert |
| Production | Warner Bros. Pictures, Village Roadshow Pictures, RatPac-Dune Entertainment, Weed Road Pictures, Safehouse Pictures, Ritchie/Wigram Productions |
| Distributed By | Roadshow Films (Australia and New Zealand), Warner Bros. Pictures (International) |
War elephants the size of office towers stomp through the opening battle of King Arthur: Legend of the Sword, and the movie never gets that weird or that clear again. Guy Ritchie turns the legend into a pile of fast-forward montages: Arthur growing up on the streets in one, Arthur surviving the monster-filled Darklands in another, plans narrated while the screen jumps ahead. By the fourth, the movie is skipping its own story. Charlie Hunnam has the swagger and the haircut but not much of a character. Jude Law is having a great time as Vortigern, a king with a dark bargain and a very short fuse. Aidan Gillen’s Goosefat Bill wins the name contest. The sword fights end in glowing, sped-up CGI that looks like a video game cutscene. It made $149.2 million worldwide on a reported $175M. A 4.6 because the style is loud and the legend gets lost under it. $309 says you see a shovel stuck in a garden this week and pull it out with a little too much ceremony.
What works: Jude Law makes a wonderfully hammy villain, and the opening elephant battle is a striking piece of fantasy chaos.
What doesn’t: Ritchie’s sped-up montages skip past the story, and the CGI sword fights look like a video game cutscene.
Who it’s for: Guy Ritchie fans who want his fast-talking street-crime style dropped into a fantasy kingdom.
Spoilers
The stone holding the sword turns out to be Uther himself, turned to stone the night Vortigern took the crown. Arthur finally faces the memory of that night, beats Vortigern in a glowing duel, takes the throne and sits his friends down at a round table.
Arthur (Charlie Hunnam) was a prince once, though he has no idea. As a child he escaped by boat when his uncle Vortigern (Jude Law) seized the crown from his father, King Uther Pendragon (Eric Bana), and he grew up hustling on the streets of Londinium. Now Vortigern rules with an iron fist, and a sword stuck in a stone has surfaced beside the castle. Every young man in the kingdom gets rounded up to try pulling it free, Arthur included. Guy Ritchie directs it like a heist movie with swords. One hundred twenty-six minutes, one very stubborn rock.
Anyone who can pull a sword out of a rock. Or knows a guy who can.
| Charlie Hunnam | King Arthur |
| Àstrid Bergès-Frisbey | the Mage |
| Djimon Hounsou | Sir Bedivere |
| Aidan Gillen | Goosefat Bill |
| Mikael Persbrandt | Greybeard |
| Annabelle Wallis | Maggie |
| Peter Ferdinando | Earl of Mercia |
| Kingsley Ben-Adir | Wet Stick |
| Neil Maskell | Back Lack |
| Geoff Bell | Mischief John |
| Freddie Fox | Rubio |
| Katie McGrath | Elsa |
| Lorraine Bruce, Eline Powell | Syrens |
| Hermione Corfield | Syrens |
| Craig McGinlay | Percy |
| Tom Wu | Kung Fu George |
| Poppy Delevingne | Igraine |
| Millie Brady | Princess Catia |
| Bleu Landau | Blue |
| Jacqui Ainsley | Lady of the Lake |
| David Beckham | Trigger |
| Michael McElhatton | Jack's Eye |
| Barney Walsh | Young Arthur 19 yrs |
- (cur | prev) 14:30, 17 October 2026 DataBot +480 Numbers refreshed: Worldwide box office $149.2M; Domestic box office $39.2M; Opening weekend $15.4M; Profit / loss (est.) -$187.9M; Rotten Tomatoes 31%; CinemaScore B+; box office chart updated; Rotten Tomatoes critics 31% (279 reviews); Metacritic 41 / 100; CinemaScore B+; IMDb users 6.7 / 10 (250,605 votes); movie.guru score 4.1.
- (cur | prev) 12:00, 17 October 2026 DataBot +2,000 Profile created from Wikipedia and Box Office Mojo: cast, crew, release dates, budget, official trailer.