The Kid Who Would Be King – PG – 2019 – Fantasy/Action-2h Movie Review

by Douglas Montgomery II

The Kid Who Would Be King starring child actor Louis Ashbourne Serkis as Alex, is definitely a movie for kids, but a movie that adults and parents should take kids to see, because as the line that precedes the movie title reads, “Evil Gets Schooled”. Evil in various elementary forms does in fact get schooled in this movie. Directed by helmer of Attack The Block, Joe Cornish, who also wrote Ant-Man and The Adventures of Tin Tin, this movie is an analogy to the story of King Arthur for adults, but a modern day adventure for kids who may not be or are just becoming aware of King Arthur and the Knights of the round table story.

The movie begins with a quick back story of King Arthur’s battle with his half-sister Morgana, who although defeated, has vowed revenge on the land. Fast forward to present day and we find school kid Alex and his best friend Bedders, played by Dean Chaumoo, dealing with being bullied by some of their fellow school mates. But Alex is not one to shy away from a fight and let’s everyone know there’s definitely a fire inside of him. It’s that fire that drives and delivers Alex to his destiny of finding Arthur’s sword and the modern re-imagining of King Arthur and his Knights in the guise of himself and his school friends. There’s many life lessons for kids to learn and relate to in this movie. From several examples of leadership, feeling powerless, acts of selflessness, teamwork, and using one’s enemies to accomplish your goals and turning them into friends at the same time.

Rounding out the cast are Alex’s school mates, Lance (Tom Taylor), Kaye (Rhianna Dorris), Young Merlin (Angus Imrie), Alex’s Mom (Denise Gough), evil sorceress Morgana (Rebecca Ferguson), and Adult Merlin (Patrick Stewart). While it would have been nice to have seen more of Stewart as Merlin, and more villainy from Ferguson’s Morgana, this is clearly a movie about the kids and what they have to deal with in this world, and ironically, its the same themes that play out in our own lives as adults. And as Alex is told early in the movie, the world is not going to change, it is you that has to change. An important platitude for anyone to grasp young or old.

The Kid Who Would Be King is fun, humorous, fantastically adventurous, but teaching the audience some lessons in life and people, all at the same time. If you have kids, and are looking to drop your kids off at the movie theater, or want to take your kids to a movie and have them learn something valuable while being entertained, then The Kid Who Would Be King is by far a good choice. After seeing this movie, audiences won’t exit the theater a king, queen, or member of royalty. But if they pay attention to what’s being said, they’ll leave feeling like a graduate of charm school. The Kid Who Would Be King is now playing in theaters! Go check it out!