The Kid Who Would Be King: a sweet throwback

The Kid Who Would Be King is a 2019 fantasy film written and directed by Joe Cornish. A British-American venture, the film stars Louis Ashbourne Serkis, Tom Taylor, Rebecca Ferguson, and Patrick Stewart. The plot follows a young boy who finds King Arthur’s legendary sword Excalibur, and must then use it to stop an ancient enchantress from destroying the world. Distributed by 20th Century Fox, the film was released in the United States on 25 January 2019, and is scheduled for the United Kingdom on the 15 of February 2019.

Alex Elliot is an ordinary boy who is picked on at school. However, that changes when he finds and pulls King Arthur’s famous sword Excalibur from a stone. He discovers that he is destined to form a new round table for an upcoming battle with the medieval villain Morgana, who has summoned evil forces to rule the world. The wizard Merlin, who appears young but can transform into his old self, assists Alex in his quest.

It received positive reviews from critics. On review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds an approval rating of 86% based on 99 reviews, and an average rating of 6.9/10. The website’s critical consensus reads, “The Kid Who Would Be King recalls classic all-ages adventures-and repurposes a timeless legend-for a thoroughly enjoyable addition to the family movie canon.”

On Metacritic, the film has a weighted average score of 66 out of 100, based on 29 critics, indicating “generally favorable reviews”.Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of “B+” on an A+ to F scale, while those at PostTrak gave it an overall positive score of 71% and a “definite recommend” of 46%.