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King Arthur: Legend of the Sword | 2017 | PG-13 | - 3.7.5

A retelling of the old English legend: Arthur (Charlie Hunnam) is raised in a brothel after his father, the king, is murdered by his uncle (Jude Law) and is unaware of his royal bloodline. When he is the only young man able to free the mystical sword left in a stone by his father he must decide whether to accept his new role. Also with Astrid Bergès-Frisbey, Djimon Hounsou, Eric Bana, Aidan Gillen, Freddie Fox, Craig McGinlay, Tom Wu, Kingsley Ben-Adir, Neil Maskell, Annabelle Wallis and Bleu Landau. Directed by Guy Ritchie. [2:06]

SEX/NUDITY 3 - A tapestry shows a topless woman (we see stylized bare breasts). Three female beings are shown wrapped with and attached to tentacles as they surface from under water; two of them swim toward a man and we see their bare breasts with their hair covering the nipples, a very brief glimpse of buttocks, bare backs and abdomens (we see them in a few scenes). A man walking through a dark forest sees trees that take on the shapes of women and we see the shape of breasts and buttocks covered with bark. Women in a brothel are shown wearing low-cut and off the shoulder dresses that reveal cleavage. Women wear low-cut dresses that reveal cleavage in several scenes. Men are shown shirtless while fighting and training and we see their bare chests, abdomens and backs. A woman's bare back is seen when a man cleans a bloody wound for her.
 A man speaks to a woman and appears to be flirting (she does not reciprocate). We are told that a young boy was raised in a brothel after his parents were murdered. Several scenes show a boy growing to an adolescent and a young man interacting with women in a brothel as they entertain their clients.

VIOLENCE/GORE 7 - A man takes a woman to a dark passageway where he kisses her and stabs her (we hear a crunch and see blood on the blade) and the woman falls limp as the man cries. A man hugs his daughter, and then stabs her and she falls limp in his arms; we see her body floating in water later, where she is grabbed by a tentacle and pulled under. A sorcerer is slashed on the leg and the wound spews what looks like blood; we see the sorcerer's hand covered with blood also as he is run through (a lot of blood is seen on the wound and blood gushes from under his helmet) and falls back, transforms to his human form and dies.
 A wounded man sits against a beam as another man slices his ear off (we hear the slice and see the other man talking into the severed ear), and then slices his throat as the wounded man's young son watches and screams (a little blood is seen and the boy is taken away to safety). A wounded man tries to fend off attacking guards alone and we see him slashed and he falls dead (we see a little blood from his previous abdominal wound). Several bodies are shown hanging upside down from trees outside a cave where many other bodies are shown lying around. Many armed men break into a courtyard where they fight other armed men: we see slashing and stabbing and when one man draws his sword we see dirt swirling as he lashes many of the attacking men (we see many bodies on the ground, with no blood).
 A giant snake slithers through a room eating several men. A large snake lunges at a man and the man cuts it in half with a sword (the man is splattered in the face with blood and we see the separated snake fall to the floor). A man is chased by a giant snake until a giant eagle snatches the snake and flies away with it; a giant bat lifts a man off the ground and flies with him, other bats fight the first bat over the man, the man falls and a bat snatches him back up; giant rats attack the man in shallow water and we see the man being bitten as the water turns red from his blood; then large snarling wolves approach a man. A snake slithers up a man's arm and around his shoulders where it bites him on the neck (we see a wound on the man's neck).
 A man is slashed across the chest and abdomen twice and then pierced through the back with a spear and lifted into the air by a sorcerer (no blood is evident); the man throws his sword into the air and it lands in his back as he kneels on a pier, turns to stone and sinks into water. We see a woman killed by a spear thrown through the chest as her young son watches (we see this scene repeated with increasing detail until finally the spear moves through the woman's body leaving a hole and she falls dead, with no blood shown). A woman is forced to her knees and held with a knife to her throat; we hear a slice and understand that her throat has been slit as other women and a man in the room scream.
 A man is struck by a ball of flames thrown by a sorcerer and he falls back, the two fight with slashing swords and the man is thrown to the ground several times, one time striking his head hard on the stone ground. A man swings his sword toward a sorcerer and there is a burst of flame suggesting that the sorcerer is killed. Many armed men battle with swords and arrows on top of a wall/bridge and we see a few thrown over the side. Many men are struck by arrows as men run through passageways to escape (no blood is shown). A man is shot in the chest by an arrow and blood pours from his mouth as he collapses; many other men are shot by arrows from a great distance and they fall dead with no blood showing. Men gathered in a courtyard are shot with arrows and fall dead with no blood showing. A man is shot in the leg with an arrow and he screams in pain (no blood is shown).
 A man holds a knife to another man's throat and then cuts off his long beard. A man appears to have been wounded and he drips blood from his hand onto the floor. A man is shown holding his head in pain as blood trickles from his nose in a few scenes. Two giant elephants break through a wall as a sorcerer kills many men with blasts of energy that reduce them to cinder and ash. Several men jump across rooftops; one hits the side of the building and falls to the round below moaning.
 A man on a horse jumps off a ledge; the man catches onto the side of a wooden transport and the horse falls off-screen (presumably to its death). Two giant elephants with wooden transports on their backs thrash and burst into cinder and ash as men are thrown to the ground (we do not see the result).
 A woman is shown being struck by men in several scenes and we see her with a bruised and scratched face and arms. A young boy is bullied in several scenes as he grows up; we see him being beaten resulting in bloody facial wounds, we see him dunked in water, and we see him pushed into water. A man strikes three men; one punched in the throat, one kneed in the groin and one struck in the face (we see his bloody nose). Several men fight with several other men with bare knuckles in several scenes (we see some blood flow from facial wounds). A man slaps another man hard across the face. A village is shown being ransacked and set ablaze; women are shown being dragged from a building (one by the hair). A large eagle flies toward an executioner and prevents him from lifting his ax as two vicious dogs attack guards gathered around the man to be executed. A young boy holds a sword that his father takes from him and the boy's hands are slashed as the blade is pulled away (we see bloody cuts). A man is shown with a bloody abdominal wound and he struggles to walk. A man cleans a bloody wound on a woman's bare back. Crowds of people are shown surrounding guards and pulling some off their horses.
 Three men and a woman jump from a high cliff into water as they are being shot at by bowmen. A man bound with ropes is tied to a block and another man prepares to behead him (we see the large ax). A young boy is found floating in a boat and we see his face bloody with scratches as a woman carries him away. A man is shown shackled and with bloody head and facial wounds. A man is shown shackled and sitting in a dark cell. A man is shown bound and with a bag over his head being led on horseback by other men. Several men run through narrow passageways and are chased to a wall that they climb to get away from guards.
 A man holds a sword, his eyes glow and he collapses unconscious in a few scenes. A man runs through a thick forest and falls into mud where he feels a woman's hand grabbing him and pulls him under water (he is fine later). A man has nightmares and visions about a sorcerer murdering his mother and his father when he was a young child and he wakes with a start. Something slithers in dark water and we see that there are a few female beings wrapped with tentacles (please see the Sex/Nudity category for more details). A man wakes a woman and their child to take them away from danger. A man finds a large pile of human skulls. A horse rears and throws a man on the ground (he is not harmed).
 A man talks about having been taught by a powerful sorcerer. A creature tells a man, "Kill the boy." A man says, "When people fear you, it is intoxicating." A man yells at another man and curses him. A man says, "I'm gonna kill him." A man talks about interrupting the slave supply to a king. A man says that another man's friends, "Scream like girls."
 A tall tower bursts into flames and crumbles to the ground. Water recedes leaving a sword protruding from a large stone; many men fight over the sword and try to free it, but are unable. Flames burst from a tall tower in a few scenes. Many barrels of brandy are emptied and set on fire (we see the liquid pouring and the flames from a distance). Bowmen loose flaming arrows into pyres that burn in a few scenes.
 Many men are packed onto a ship and are unloaded on a pier; the men line up to attempt to free a sword from a stone and one manages to pull the sword out, and then collapses when he grips the handle and sees disturbing images.
 A man has a bruised and swollen eye and bloody cuts on his face after several encounters with large animals. A sorcerer is shown with glowing red eyes in a few scenes. A sorcerer's eyes turn black when she is engaging her powers in a few scenes. Several men are shown with scars on their faces and across their eyes. Vicious dogs bark and lunge toward a man or men in several scenes. A man creates a ball of flame that floats above his hand as his eyes glow red and his face turns ashen with dark veins.

LANGUAGE 5 - About 3 F-words (2 mouthed), 2 scatological terms, 6 anatomical terms, 3 mild obscenities, name-calling (stupid, goose-fat Bill, flat-nose Mike, sweetheart, honey [anatomical term deleted], silly posh bastard).

SUBSTANCE USE - Men drink from goblets (presumably wine), and barrels of brandy are emptied and set on fire (we see the liquid pouring and the flames from a distance).

DISCUSSION TOPICS - Legends, magic, death of parents, King Arthur, family lineage, peace, power, mysticism, weakness, hate, fear, rumors.

MESSAGE - Greed and power can make people ruthless.

CAVEATS

Be aware that while we do our best to avoid spoilers it is impossible to disguise all details and some may reveal crucial plot elements.

We've gone through several editorial changes since we started covering films in 1992 and older reviews are not as complete & accurate as recent ones; we plan to revisit and correct older reviews as resources and time permits.

Our ratings and reviews are based on the theatrically-released versions of films; on video there are often Unrated, Special, Director's Cut or Extended versions, (usually accurately labelled but sometimes mislabeled) released that contain additional content, which we did not review.


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