The Kid Who Would Be King
While it’s great to see a family film that’s an original concept, this fantasy adventure probably has more to offer pre-teen audiences than cynical adults. But The Kid Who Would Be King is a welcome return of the kind of 80s films where young teenagers could see heroes just like themselves on the big screen.
Premise: When 12-year-old Alex Elliot pulls Excalibur from a stone in a building site in contemporary London, he learns that he may be the only one capable of stopping the evil sorceress Morgana (Rebecca Ferguson) from escaping her centuries old prison. With guidance from Merlin, Alex must follow in King Arthur’s footsteps to find worthy knights who can aid him on his quest to save Britain from Morgana’s undead soldiers.
Review:
I think this is the kind of film where you really have to bear in mind who its target audience is. As an adult viewer, I did find the plot fairly predictable, the characters fairly two-dimensional, and the action fairly run-of-the-mill. But on the other hand, I can imagine my 8-year-old self, who loved stories of King Arthur and his Knights of the Roundtable, thinking this was the greatest film ever made!
For viewers of the right age, this film has it all – I mean what’s not to love about young teenagers finding a magical sword and fighting undead skeletal warriors riding fire-breathing horses through deserted London streets? It’s also refreshing that this film is set in a relatable, realistic inner city school, rather than the romanticised boarding school environments of Hogwarts and its ilk. There’s always been an undeniable thrill to be had if you’re a young teenager watching a relatable hero onscreen battle impossible challenges – but it’s a genre that’s strangely fallen out of fashion. Whereas in the 80s films like E.T., The Goonies and Flight of the Navigator all had young teenager heroes, these days the heroes in family friendly big screen movies are (for the most part) all adults. So in that respect, The Kid Who Would Be King does feel like a welcome nostalgic blast from the past.
“…the standout is Angus Imrie as the gloriously flamboyant younger version of Merlin…”
The young cast are fine, led by Louis Ashbourne Serkis (son of Andy Serkis) as Alex Elliot, the kid chosen by Excalibur. But as a jaded adult viewer, I did feel a little like they were all over-earnest drama school students, which made it difficult for me to form a connection with their characters (full disclosure, I’m generally not a big fan of child actors). However, I have no doubt that younger viewers wouldn’t have any such quibbles. That said, the standout amongst the younger actors was Angus Imrie (son of Celia Imrie), who plays the gloriously flamboyant younger version of Merlin (Merlin “ages backwards”, so although he occasionally appears in his older form, played by Patrick Stewart, for the most part he appears as a teenager). Angus Imrie brings a real flair to the character, in such a way that I’ve already seem some people suggest he could make a great future Doctor Who. Here, he brings much of the film’s humour, while also providing the exposition, and carrying some of the key emotional moments, which is a pretty impressive balancing act. In fact, Angus Imrie is so good, wherever he’s off-screen I did find myself waiting impatiently for his return.
Like those great 80s movies, the adult characters really do play second fiddle to the younger characters. Alex’s mum and teachers have very little to do other than move the plot along, while Rebecca Ferguson basically just gets to whisper menacing things from her underground lair as the hiss-able panto villain Morgana. As I mentioned, Patrick Stewart does cameo as the older version of Merlin, but it really is nothing more than a couple of brief appearances.
“…comments on how the only hope for the country lies with its future generations…”
I might be doing the film a slight disservice to say that the plot’s simplistic – the quest to battle Morgana is fairly straightforward, but in fairness there are some interesting other story elements that are certainly aimed at older (teenager) viewers rather than very young children. For example, there is a bullying thread that runs through the first half of the film, and while it may seem a little naively handled in places (especially in terms of the bullies’ changes of heart), it also doesn’t feel too watered down. Equally, there’s a plot thread concerning Alex’s long-lost father that doesn’t go where you expect it to go, and which also deals with some “real life” issues without pulling its punches. Genevieve O'Reilly appears in this plot threat and gives arguably the film’s most emotionally convincing performance, which takes some of the acting burden off from Louis Ashbourne Serkis’ shoulders in that scene.
The film also has an underlying subtext about how dark our current political and social climate has become. While no explicit references are made to Brexit by name, the film does comment on how British society has never been more divided and fractured than it is now, and that the only hope of restoring a sense of unity and cooperation to Britain lies with its future generations. Like so much of this film, that sentiment is something that I found admirable (just like the attempts to modernise the Arthurian legends for a modern audience), even if I couldn’t totally connect emotionally with the film.
“…pre-teens & younger teenagers can see heroes like themselves on the big screen, battling evil…”
Although it’s rated PG, the battle scenes and undead horsemen are perhaps a bit too intense for very young viewers – while at the other end of the spectrum, jaded and cynical audiences may struggle to overlook some of the film’s shortcomings. But there is a sweet spot in the middle, where pre-teens and younger teenagers can see heroes like themselves on the big screen, battling evil, going on adventures and turning their school into the last bastion to stand against a legion of supernatural warriors – and what kid wouldn’t want to go and see that?
