Camelot becomes an urban legend

THIS live-action fantasy adventure is a magical modern-day take on the age-old myth of King Arthur and the knights of Camelot.

When an ordinary suburban schoolboy discovers a mysterious sword, he’s caught up in a quest to discover the hero inside himself, ably helped by his trio of loyal schoolmates.

Far superior to Guy Ritchie’s awful King Arthur from 2017, this is packed with action and humour as it stays faithful to the broad sweep of the legend, and carefully includes key details, such as pulling the sword Excalibur from the stone, the lady in the lake and shape-shifting wizards.

The great location work makes wonderful use of our ancient English countryside and monuments such as Stonehenge, while the epic showdown takes place in an urban setting which may bring out the cold sweats in any watching schoolteacher.

Louis Ashbourne Serkis is an open-faced and engaging presence as 12-year-old Alex, who somewhat reluctantly seizes his destiny as the new Arthur. You may recognise his surname but not his face, as his actor dad Andy is usually hidden behind a CGI mask as characters such as Gollum in The Lord of the Rings franchise.

Angus Imrie brings agreeable eccentricity as Merlin, and Patrick Stewart adds some acting gravitas as an older version of the wizard, who helps the kids take on Rebecca Ferguson’s evil witch Morgana.

It’s a very British film with universal appeal that carries a message of honesty, truth, perseverance and the importance of honouring one’s parents, though the last point seemed to sail over the head of my eight-year-old son.

He’s the perfect age to enjoy this and he sat rapt throughout, though he confessed the creepy factor was near the upper limit of his tolerance. Ha-ha.

Written and directed with smart and fierce sincerity by Joe Cornish, this is a thoroughly enjoyable and well-crafted family movie for your half-term entertainment.