B@;J J?@E< @E N@Q8I; GCFK
IN his last film Attack The Block, British writer-director Joe Cornish riffed on the alien invasion movies he loved as a teenager.
In this labour of love, he’s trying to resurrect the family adventures of the 1980s.
His idea is to transport Arthurian legend to a drab suburb of modern London. His Goonies-like heroes are a group of everyday schoolkids who, after a sword is plucked from a stone, become knights of the extendable Ikea table.
“Gone on quest to save Britain,” reads the note 12-year-old Alex (Louis Ashbourne Serkis, son of Andy) leaves for his mum (Denise Gough). “Don’t worry!”
Alex shows off his chivalric credentials in an early scene where he saves his best pal Bedders (Dean Chaumoo) from 16-year-old bullies Lance (Tom Taylor) and Kay (Rhianna Dorris).
The older kids chase him to a building site where Alex stumbles across the sword.
Soon he is visited by the wizard Merlin, who appears to him first as a manic 16-year-old boy (Angus Imrie,), then as an owl, then as a craggy old man (Patrick Stewart).
Merlin tells him he is the heir of King Arthur and unless he finds his inner hero, evil sorceress Morgana (Rebecca Ferguson) will enslave Britain. Kids will love the wacky way Imrie Jnr casts his spells but may find Serkis Jnr a little bland.
Parents may notice a slightly topical edge. Morgana has been waiting for a time when Britain is divided and “leaderless” to make her grab for power.
Just as Arthur made allies of his rival warlords, Alex needs to get his enemies on side to fend off the next dark age. Perhaps there’s a message here for Theresa May too.