Alex the Boy Who Would Be King – The Kid Who Would Be King (2019)

Directed by: Joe Cornish | 115 minutes | action, adventure | Actors: Louis Ashbourne Serkis, Denise Gough, Dean Chaumoo, Tom Taylor, Rhianna Dorris, Nathan Stewart-Jarrett, Noma Dumezweni, Rebecca Ferguson, Mark Bonnar, Angus Imrie, Louis Martin, Joey Ansah, Adam Leese, Alexandra Roach, Nick Mohammed, Patrick Stewart, Myra McFadyen, Adam Buxton, Claudie Blakley, Genevieve O’Reilly

The legend of King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table is centuries old, but still captures the imagination. Stories and books have been written about this most legendary figure in British history since time immemorial. There are even tours of the historic sites where Arthur and his entourage had their adventures. Not only Arthur himself, but also the striking secondary characters from his legend – the aforementioned Knights of the Round Table, Prince Lancelot, the magician Merlin and Arthur’s wife Lady Guinevere – are an inexhaustible source of inspiration for film makers. They can take it in many directions, because the legend lends itself to both a traditional romantic heroic epic (for example ‘Knights of the Round Table’ (1953) with Robert Taylor and Ava Gardner, among others) and a hilarious Monty Python parody. (‘Monty Python and the Holy Grail’, 1975) and there are even musicals (‘Camelot’, 1967, with Richard Harris and Vanessa Redgrave), animated films (Disney’s ‘The Sword in the Stone’, 1963). More recent releases include ‘Excalibur’ (1981), ‘First Knight’ (1995)’, ‘King Arthur’ (2004) and ‘King Arthur: Legend of the Sword’ from 2017. And yes, a Transformers even appeared. movie inspired by the legend of King Arthur (‘Transformers: The Last Knight’, 2017)! Because every film has its own approach, they all have a right to exist in their own way. Apparently the legend is so strong, we just can’t get enough of it.

The latest addition to the King Arthur tree is ‘Alex the Boy Who Would Be King’ (‘The Kid Who Would Be King’) (2019) by British director Joe Cornish, who debuted in 2011 with the surprisingly successful ‘Attack the Block’, in which a group of teenagers must save London from an alien invasion. In the eight years that followed, he did not sit still, because he wrote the screenplays for the Tintin film adaptation ‘The Adventures of Tintin’ (2011) and ‘Ant-Man’ (2015). ‘The Kid Who Would Be King’ is a real family adventure film like the ones that were sometimes made in the eighties (think of ‘ET: The Extra Terrestrial’ (1982), ‘The Neverending Story’ (1984), ‘The Goonies ‘ (1985) and ‘Back to the Future’ (1985); exciting and compelling film adaptations for viewers of all ages and which we still talk about years later. Films also in which ordinary children or teenagers find themselves in extraordinary situations. Alex (Louis Ashbourne Serkis), a dreamy 12-year-old boy who has just started high school.These times are tumultuous (the news flash that opens the film mentions ‘political dichotomy’ and ‘authoritarian rulers’ – just like in the real Britain), but in high school, college bums like Alex and his best friend Bedders (Dean Chaumoo) are still screwed up, with notorious bullies Lance (Tom Taylor) and Kaye (Rhianna Dorris) out to get them. and if Alex then ee Once he fights back, he must remain in detention as a punishment.

That afternoon detention will change his life, because on the way home he finds a sword in a stone at an abandoned construction site. Knowing the legend of King Arthur from a book his long-lost father once gave him as a gift, he knows exactly what this gem is. At the same time, somewhere in the Earth’s crust, Morgana (Rebecca Ferguson), Arthur’s embittered sister who has turned into a witch, awakens and wants revenge for what was done to her centuries ago. She sends an army of fiery skeletons on horses Alex’s way. Fortunately, there’s Merlin (Patrick Stewart), the old wizard who can help Alex stop Morgana. In order to enter his world, he changes into a younger version of himself (Angus Imrie), a curious boy who shows up at the boys’ school. He convinces Alex that he is the only one who can defeat evil in King Arthur’s footsteps, but in order to do so he must join forces with the two bullies Lance and Kaye.

Louis Ashbourne Serkis is the son of the actor couple Andy Serkis and Lorraine Ashbourne and turns out to be a natural talent. He carries this film on his shoulders with the greatest of ease. Angus Imrie also makes a good impression, especially with the physical tricks he plays. That youthful energy is counterbalanced by, among others, experienced rotten Patrick Stewart (with disheveled hair and a washed-out Led Zeppelin shirt) and an almost unrecognizable Rebecca Ferguson, who must have been working on the make-up department for a long time, but with a beautiful result. The special effects are convincing enough (we’re spoiled for choice these days, of course) and deliver exciting confrontations between Alex and co and the representatives of evil. Each time, the threat is stronger as more and more skeletal soldiers show up, resulting in awesome car and horse chases. The training that Merlin organizes for the knights-to-be, with trees brought to life, is also a wonderful spectacle. Well, the images are very reminiscent of other adventure films (the Harry Potter series, the Tolkien films), the third quarter of the film drags a bit, the finale is not very believable and the message is imposed a bit too firmly, but entertaining ‘Alex the boy who would be king’ is absolute. Recommended for the whole family!