King Arthur (Director's Cut) [Blu-ray]

Clive Owen, Ioan Gruffudd, Keira Knightley. This action-packed epic production presents a gritty and more explicit look at the legend of King Arthur and the brotherhood that served him known as the Knights of the Round Table. 2004/color/138 min/NR.

It's got a round table, some knights, and a noble warrior who rises to become King Arthur, but everything else about this revisionist legend is pure Hollywood. That's not such a bad thing if you enjoyed IRob Roy/I, IBraveheart/I, IGladiator/I, and ITroy/I, and there's some intriguing potential in presenting the "real" Arthur (played by Clive Owen) as a 5th-century soldier of Rome, assigned to defend Roman-imperial England against a hoard of invading Saxons (led by Stellan Skarsgård in hairy villain mode). As revamped history and "archaeological findings" would have us believe, Guinevere (Keira Knightley) is a warrior babe in face-paint and Lancelot (Ioan Gruffudd) is a nonentity who fades into the woodwork. Never mind! Best to enjoy the harsh, gloomy atmosphere of Irish locations, the ruggedness of Owen and his hearty supporting cast, and the entertaining nonsense of a Jerry Bruckheimer production that strips battle-ready Guinevere down to leather-strap SM gear while all the men sport full-body armor. Hail to the queen, indeed! I--Jeff Shannon/I