This is a new take on the Arthurian legend. It is confusingly set in the time when Rome under control of a Pope is withdrawing from Britain. Arthur (Clive Owen) is the leader of a generational band of foreign mercenaries, the Samarian Knights who fight Rome’s enemies in one of its furthest outposts.

This is a big action film with some terrific battle sequences, especially the introductory ambush and the face-off on the frozen lake. Unfortunately there is little character development, so it is hard to emphasis with the trials and tribulations of this band of seven ‘Boys Own’ warriors.

The confusing plot is as follows: Samarian knights rescue a Roman bishop from 100s of blue painted savages ‘Wodes’. These are followers of a dark magician called Merlin who control the land north of Hadrian?s wall. The bishop then sends the knights to rescue an important Roman family who are threatened by an army of invading Saxons. Knights rescue family, at the same time, they release from the Roman dungeon, Guinivere (Keira Knightly), a Wode, female warrior who has been imprisoned and tortured for being a pagan. During the rescue and subsequent chase by the Saxons, Arthur realises that the Romans are the enemy, Merlin?s blue-painted hordes are his people and thus he must lead them against the sub-human, animalistic Saxons.

The battle scenes are impressive, very in the ‘Last of the Mohicans’ style. but the intimate scenes are terrible, cliched, badly acted and poorly directed. Keira Knightly is a very modern lass who is not really believable as a pagan blue-painted savage.

A very uneven film. The director seems competent with bloody violence but completely out of his depth with basic human interaction. This production would be an instructive study for first year film students as the flaws are so obvious and plentiful. I give this film two stars.