THE KID WHO WOULD BE KING
A good knight in
Can Joe Cornish pull the stone from the sword? No, hold on, that’s not right...
RELEASED 24 June (download out now) 2019 | PG | Blu-ray/dVd/download Director Joe Cornish Cast louis ashbourne serkis, Patrick stewart, rebecca Ferguson, angus Imrie
Joe Cornish hides his inspirations in plain sight. Take Alex Elliott, the name of the 12-year-old hero of his latest film. Elliott’s a salute to the bike-flying protagonist of E.T. And Alex? Half a Scrabble hand away from Excalibur. Both movies took root in the imagination of the teenage Cornish and here’s the result: shining Arthurian myth bolted to Spielbergian suburban fantasy.
It’s a pointedly timely retelling of the legend. “People’s hearts grew hopeless and hollow,” intones the opening voiceover. “The country became lost and leaderless.” No, we’re not live from Leeds with this week’s Question Time – these words accompany a beautifully rendered animated sequence depicting the age of Camelot – but the parallels with modern times are soon rammed home. Cutting to the 21st century we see shuttered high streets and headlines declaring “GLOOM” in big, fun-killing letters. Perfect conditions for Arthur’s sorcerous half-sister, Morgana, to return and seize power – unless the true heir to Excalibur steps forward...
Enter Alex, played with winning sincerity by Louis Ashbourne Serkis, son of Andy. Finding the fabled sword amid the rubble of a building site, he embraces his destiny with the starry-eyed certainty of a kid who’s devoured the adventures of Luke Skywalker and Harry Potter.
We get no less than two Merlins along the way. Well, the old wizard did live his life in reverse, so don’t expect anything as perfunctory as consistency. The role’s shared between Angus Imrie as a lanky, manic innocent – very much a Doctor Who audition – and a judiciously deployed Patrick Stewart, who pops up at moments of suitable actorly import. With his wild stare and Led Zep T-shirt there’s a hint of veteran festival casualty about Stewart’s Merlin, connecting the movie to a certain cider-soaked, patchouli-scented strain of British mysticism. He’s heavy, man.
Opposing our young knights is Mission: Impossible’s Rebecca Ferguson, who plays Morgana with serpentine relish. Pity her army of generic dark riders are Chitauri-style cannon fodder. Far more effective are some sentient trees, moving on skittering, spidery roots.
2011’s Attack The Block saw Cornish gleefully colliding an alien invasion movie with the realities of inner-city London. The Kid Who Would Be King takes equal joy in smashing together Thomas Malory and Grange Hill. Demonic knights gallop down the corridors of a comprehensive school. The Lady in the Lake surfaces in a bath tub. One great sight gag reveals that the makeshift round table in the kitchen is actually square. “Quick, lift up the flaps!”
It smashes together Thomas Malory and Grange Hill
But while the movie teases the mythology it also has the purity of heart required to pull the sword from the stone. There’s an authentic sense of an enchanted British landscape in its excursions to Cornwall, Stonehenge and Glastonbury, more than a nod to John Boorman’s Excalibur in the mist-shrouded lakes and woodlands. There are winks and smiles in this charming adventure, but never a sneer when it comes to the grand old source material. Malory might even approve – if someone could just explain the
Mario Kart reference to him.
Extras Four deleted scenes, including your only chance to see Una Stubbs as Lance’s nan – how in the name of Mrs Hudson does Stubbs end up on the cutting room floor? The ignominy! The disc also delivers a fistful of behind-thescenes featurettes: “Origins Of A King” (11.48), with an everengaging Joe Cornish discussing his cinematic inspirations; “Young Knights” (12.07), focusing on the teen stars; “Knight School” (10.08), covering combat, horse and magic training; “The Two Merlins” (11.48), spotlighting Stewart and Imrie; “Meet Morgana” (12.02), exploring the film’s sorcerous antagonist; and “Movie Magic” (13.33), showcasing the landscape and history side. There’s also a brief, inessential “Hair, Make-Up And Costume Tests” featurette and a collection of “Merlin’s Magic” ads, where Angus Imrie performs wizardly tutorials in the name of promoting the movie. Plus: the video for “Be The King” by child prodigy rap queen Lay Lay, guaranteed to make you feel as old as Stonehenge.
This isn’t Patrick Stewart’s first brush with Arthurian legend: he played Guinevere’s father Leondegrance in Excalibur.