The Kid Who Would Be King

A very nicely made fantasy movie, the biggest fault of which is that it is too childish. (08/11/2019)

A modern wannabe Amblin flick that is too tame for an adventure ride, bland and noticeably lacking the charm of a child's quest for adventure. It’s saved mainly by the likeable protagonist and a few scenes that have that proverbial Amblin spark. (07/04/2019)

If you like the Arthurian legends and want to share them with your children, The Kid Who Would Be King may be the film for you. To everyone else, a warning, although the film is not bad or lacking ideas, those two hours are way too much and there aren’t enough attractions to fully plug those plot holes. But lets be honest, it couldn’t have turned out in any other way. (10/04/2019)

Two years ago we were treated to a historical-modern take on the legend of King Arthur by Guy Ritchie, and this year we are served a teen version without blood and set in the present. I found the child stars mostly unlikeable, and frankly, if it weren't for Patrick Stewart, the cast would have been bland through and through. Perhaps it's a shame that Rebecca Ferguson wasn't given more space. The visuals aren’t bad considering the budget (just under $60 million), and I was quite taken with young Merlin's presentation of magic (finger snapping and all sorts of gestures and sneezes), though Angus Imrie's face looked goofy. I'm not at all surprised that this film didn't go into cinemas here and was released directly to DVD, as it doesn't offer anything that groundbreaking worth showing on the big screen after all. (16/05/2019)