(Maybe it's the times we live in, but I'm getting tired of seeing men killing each other.) In this the supposed "untold true story that inspired the legend," we join the famous knights of the roundtable in the year 453 AD (not the 15th century as so often assumed). Arthur (presumably half Italian/ half Brit.) sides with the Romans and nobly guards a wall in the South of Britain. Fifteen years later, he must make some very hard choices, not the least of which is allegiance.

Based on the poster alone, I expected a mindless Hollywood "Robin Hoody" action flick. And while the film does have those moments, it also has an awesome sense of dialogue, acting, direction and drive. What little hope I had for the film came from director Antoine Fuqua. I was a big fan of his "Training Day." The two pieces have in common this internal struggle, "What happens when an individual matures to a point of questioning the very circumstances and leaders he's been raised/trained to never question?" When the very tenets upon which all of your previous decisions have been based are now suspect -- what will you do? This is perhaps the crux of personal definition, and no doubt what Fuqua enjoys exploring. Certainly, it is what gives this film its strong center.

Kudos to Clive Owen, he makes a perfect King Arthur: strong, handsome, noble, thinking, charismatic. And Ray Winstone knocks down some hearty scenes as the loveable knight/daddy of eleven.

I had a little trouble with the casting of Lancelot, and though I enjoyed the new take on Merlin's role, I felt his brief scenes needed more work. Also the film left me just a little confused over the motivation of the last big wall fight scene. Where is that wall? From which side were the Saxons attacking? Anyway, the real meat of the movie is squarely behind the eyes of King Arthur. That meat makes this film just a little too good for a "B+" rating.

(As for humans killing humans -- when will we ever stop fighting over lines in the ground?)