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| photo courtesy of polygon.com |
SPOILER-FREE REVIEW
In The Kid Who Would Be King, Alexander Elliott (Louis Ashbourne Serkis, Andy Serkis’ son) starts off like any other nerdy kid. He has a best friend (Dean Chaumoo), and he gets picked on by bigger kids (Tom Taylor, Rhianna Doris). Everything gets turned upside down when his favorite storybook comes true: Alex finds King Arthur’s sword, Excalibur, and claims it as his own. But taking his rightful place as the once and future king comes with unexpected responsibilities—and frightening new enemies. Together with his friends and the wizard Merlin (Angus Imrie/Patrick Stewart), it’s up to Alex to defeat the evil sorceress Morgana (Rebecca Ferguson) before she rises from the deep and conquers the world.
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| photo courtesy of chicagoreader.com |
The Kid Who Would Be King packs in a lot of fun without trying too hard, and if
that isn’t refreshing I don’t know what is. It’s a movie clearly, totally, and
unabashedly aimed at a child audience, and unlike many modern kid’s movies, it
doesn’t seem particularly worried about layering in material for their parents.
Sure, it might not dethrone Harry Potter
as the reigning champ of fantasy adventure, but it makes for a good time all
the same.
All the vital ingredients
for a good action adventure movie are here. Action-wise, you’ve got Alex and
his friends going on a quest, facing off against mythical monsters in a series of
increasingly dangerous encounters. Character-wise, you’ve got a likeable band
of knights in training. Humor-wise, you’ve got Merlin’s lighthearted, quirky presence
along for the ride.
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| photo courtesy of geekalerts.com |
And The Kid Who Would Be King imparts some
meaningful life lessons, too. A few pieces come from the classical values of the
original story—the movie throws around high-minded words like virtue and honor—but
in a few places, The Kid reframes the
classic story for a modern purpose. In essence, it echoes The Last Jedi, breaking down archetypes in favor of everyday
heroism. It’s a moral that’s relevant for an increasingly turbulent world, evil
sorceress invasion or not.
The Kid Who Would Be King is rated PG for fantasy action violence, scary
images, thematic elements including some bullying, and language.
TRAILER
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