Fantasy movies are perhaps some of the best movies you could find, especially if they use the epic element to their advantage. Of course, there have been some really bad fantasy movies in the past decade and in the history of movies as a whole. The genre either plays it too safe and bored everyone or leaps off the tracks with some ridiculous premise that's mistaken by daring or subversion by the writers.
There have been some underrated fantasy movies, but when it comes to the ones based on the legends about King Arthur, there have been both some questionable projects and some really good ones. Here are the best and worst movies about King Arthur, according to Rotten Tomatoes. There's enough to choose from that it's possible to ignore the ones that don't have a critics' score.
Updated on May 28th, 2021 by Kristy Ambrose: King Arthur seems to be a hot commodity again, and there's a lot of excitement surrounding the impending release of the movie adaptation of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight. Legends of King Arthur and his noble knights are always present somewhere in pop culture, appearing in everything from feature films to Bugs Bunny cartoons. While we wait in anticipation, here are a few more Arthurian-themed movies to watch, and some to avoid.
Worst: The Last Legion (2007) - 15%
The worst movie based on Arthurian legends is 2007's The Last Legion. Surprisingly, it managed to have a very good cast that includes Colin Firth, Ben Kingsley, Aishwarya Rai, Thomas Brodie-Sangster, and Iain Glen among others.
Like another unsuccessful movie on this list, The Last Legion uses Roman elements intertwined with Arthurian ones which don't really work all that well. Critics agree that the characters were miscast and the dialogue was terrible.
Worst: King Arthur: Legend of the Sword (2017) - 30%
The latest film based on Arthurian legends was directed by the famous Guy Ritchie whose unique style is actually not as prominent in this movie as it is in most of his other works. Nevertheless, unlike critics, audiences liked the film well enough and post a much higher score on the site.
King Arthur: Legend of the Sword was supposed to be the first in a six-film franchise, but the sequels were canceled due to the movie underperforming at the box office. What is remarkable about it is the score by Daniel Pemberton and the visuals as well as editing in some parts.
Worst: King Arthur (2004) - 31%
2004's King Arthur tried to experiment with the original Arthurian legends and try something new. But new is not always good, and so, the film failed miserably at the only thing that could have made it great (except for the cast which has such notable names as Keira Knightley and Mads Mikkelsen among others).
This movie's King Arthur is a Roman soldier rather than a medieval knight. This alteration was marketed as more historically accurate because of the supposed new archaeological findings, but such a change was probably for the worse rather than the better.
Worst: Quest for Camelot (1998) - 45%
Quest for Camelot is an example of how an animated feature can go wrong, despite the freedom creators have when it comes to visual effects. This forgotten cartoon was left alone for a good reason. It was awful.
The animation looks weird and the songs are not great at all, but kids might still enjoy this adventure. They aren't as sensitive to editing and pacing issues. After all, it was mostly targeted at children rather than their parents.
Worst: Camelot (1967) - 41%
This musical comedy-drama has the same score as one of the worst movies on the list, but it was still more successful because regular viewers seemed to be, once again, more forgiving than critics.
In the days of its release, Camelot had mostly received mixed reviews. However, the movie was nominated in five categories on the Oscars and won in three of them. The story follows King Arthur who gathers the knights together while his wife Guinevere is returning his best friend's affections.
Worst: Shrek The Third (2007) - 42%
The first two movies did well by taking shots at common fantasy tropes and Disney but failed to impress with this parody of Arthurian legend. Maybe by the time a third movie came along the basic premise had been played out, but Arthurian tales aren't the same as a fairy tale or a big-budget animated feature with an orphaned princess in the lead role.
That's not to say those old stories can't be parodied, as other entries here will prove, but the humor doesn't work on the same level. It's not even much of an adaptation but with characters like Merlin and Lancelot, we can't ignore the obvious references. Unless a viewer is a fan of the Shrek franchise this is one you can scroll past.
Worst: First Knight (1995) - 43%
Despite having a pretty impressive cast, such as Sean Connery as King Arthur, Richard Gere as Sir Lancelot, Julia Ormond as Guinevere, First Knight was accused of being bland and uncreative. In fact, critics of Rotten Tomatoes even agree that the movie suffers from terrible miscasting. Nevertheless, audiences seemed to like it more than critics.
The filmmakers tried to focus on the realistic side of the famous Arthurian legends by stripping away the magical elements but ultimately ended up failing to achieve the necessary amount of realism. Here, Guinevere marries King Arthur for political reasons but realizes she loves Sir Lancelot.
Worst: A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court (1949) - 50%
The audience liked the comic and musical angle better than the critics, and Bing Crosby was hot at the time. As a result, the movie is a fan favorite but deemed as shallow and dull by the ones handing out the film ratings.
The movie is an adaptation of a Mark Twain novel and it was the first of many television and film adaptations going all the way up to 1995. None of them were very successful, but they keep getting made, which says something about how much stubborn faith studios and producers still have with period drama and musicals.
Best: The Sword in the Stone (1963) - 66%
For a lot of kids, this animated feature was their introduction to both Arthurian legend and literary adaptation. It covers the area of Arthur's childhood when he was big brother Kay's squire and tells the story of how he became King of England by pulling a mysterious sword from a stone.
In this version of the story, the Sword in the Stone and Excalibur are two different swords. Although Arthur is too young for a love triangle there is a compelling scene with a squirrel that foreshadows this misfortune later in life. Audiences like this one slightly more than critics, but it's still one of the more highly-rated adaptations of the ancient legend even if it is a kid's cartoon.
Best: Knights of the Round Table (1953) - 67%
This movie is known as MGM's first one in CinemaScope, but that's not the only feature that Knights of the Round Table is known for. It is a black-and-white film that has the same tale of King Arthur, his wife Guinevere, his best friend Sir Lancelot, and the Knights of the Round Table.
What is peculiar is that the movie is considered one of the three installments in an unofficial trilogy from director Richard Thorpe and producer Pandro S. Berman. The other two were 1952's Ivanhoe and 1955's The Adventures of Quentin Durward.
Best: Army of Darkness (1992) - 73%
Here's a modern take on the Arthurian legend that's unique as part-parody and part-horror, one of the reasons both audiences and critics like it. It's a strange mix of gore, comedy, parody, and satire that is reminiscent of the Monty Python interpretation of the legend, at least when it comes to writing and tone.
Army of Darkness has a better budget than most other films of its class, plus a loyal fan following when it comes to the protagonist Ash. In this third installment in the Evil Dead franchise, Ash has to defend an early medieval called Lord Arthur from the legions of the undead. It's as ridiculous and wonderful as it sounds.
Best: Excalibur (1981) - 80%
Excalibur has been praised for many things including its importance for the Irish film industry. After all, it helped launch the careers of such actors like Patrick Stewart, Liam Neeson, Ciaran Hinds, and Gabriel Byrne.
Remarkable visually, it also features some great performances from its cast that elevate the story. The film was even nominated for Best Cinematography on the Academy Awards and got a nomination and a win at the Cannes Film Festival.
Best: Lancelot of the Lake (1974) - 95%
Originally known as Lancelot du Lac, Lancelot of the Lake is a French film directed by Robert Bresson. The cast is nothing special with most of the actors being amateurs who didn't appear in prior projects, but that was always Bresson's main aim.
This depiction of Arthurian legends specifically focused on emphasizing the ugly details such as blood and grime instead of only highlighting the fantasy story. You could say it was the Game of Thrones of those days.
Best: Monty Python and the Holy Grail (1975) - 97%
Undoubtedly, Monty Python and the Holy Grail is the best film ever made based on Arthurian legends. Loved both by critics and by audiences, it doesn't take its story seriously and instead chooses to make fun of it in a classic British fashion.
Monty Python group had conceived the idea for the movie during the hiatus between the third and the fourth seasons of their comedy show Monty Python's Flying Circus. The film is often considered one of the greatest comedies of all time.