King Arthur: Legend of the Sword

(2017) 2h 6m https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1972591/

This movie is wild!!

"For centuries man and mage lived side by side in peace, until the rise of the mage sorcerer Mordred turning his dark ambition against man he marches on the last remaining stronghold... Camelot."

Sorcerers in Pyramid temples atop war Elephants controlled by Mordred cast spells which incinerate the outer defenses. The long trunk weilds a rope and boulder which is used to smash through the walls of the castle. Each swing obliterates another chunk while warriors chat and soldiers cry battle. The fires ablaze in the top of the temple are being stoked by the Mages and Arthur climbs his way in. His sword glows blue and Jude Law gets a nosebleed. Mordred's eyes glow read and as Arthur strikes at him he vanishes, the light draining from the eyes of the elephant which regaining consciousness shakes the temple from its back. Arthur looks at Bedivere the commander of the army who bows his head, and then he tosses the antlered crown of the Mage into the valley below.

War has broken out between Magic and Mankind, the tone and setting are established very quickly. This movie by Guy Ritchie prefers to show rather than tell, and the cinematography and action are fast paced and you don't need a bunch of dialogue to explain what is happening. We see a young boy get his head shaved, and then paid to do work. He gets beat up and his money stolen, tossed in a river. He keeps going and we see him doing more jobs, making more money, getting in more fights, then growing up and getting stronger and tougher.

All without having to say anything. Few films are able to convey so much so effectively in an enjoyable way. He wakes up in a sweat in the middle of the night. Cut to the harbour where all the water drains away. We see water receding and the bell tower rings.

Daylight Arthur and his soldiers inlcuding Jude Law see the wild crowd of soldiers...

trying to pull a sword from a stone.

Vortigern (Jude Law) visits three eel-like mermaids in an underground pool. Some more clues...

"Why has the water dropped? Why does sword reveal itself now? I am not ready. The tower is not complete."

"As your power increases so too do the forces that will oppose you. Balance is a law that cannot be transgressed. The born king will come, it is inevitable."

He had spilled the blood of a loved on in the pool, to get his wish. But it is not going as he expected.
Now he has to kill someone else in order to gain the power of the sword, or so they say.