The story of the Arthurian legend, based on the 'Sarmatian hypothesis' which contends that the legend has a historical nucleus in the Sarmatian heavy cavalry troops stationed in Britain, and that the Roman-British military commander, Lucius Artorius Castus is the historical person behind the legend.
It's hard to care about a valiant groping for accuracy when a story is so badly told you can't tell what the devil is going on.
– Stephanie Zacharek,
Salon.com,
10 Jul 2004
rotten:
If this is history demystified, give me myth.
– Jonathan Rosenbaum,
Chicago Reader,
10 Jul 2004
fresh:
I loved the notion of the Dark Ages as the Wild West with swords. Thumbs up.
– Richard Roeper,
Ebert & Roeper,
12 Jul 2004
rotten:
Gladiator lite.
– Peter Travers,
Rolling Stone,
15 Jul 2004
rotten:
A title card says this King Arthur, grimly directed by Antoine Fuqua, is based on the latest research into the mythic past. Maybe so. But one can't help thinking the research that really counted was that into the more recent box-office charts.