The Kid Who Would Be King
The Kid Who Would Be King arrives as an action film directed by Joe Cornish, and its first strength is a clear sense of purpose. Louis Ashbourne Serkis and Denise Gough give The Kid Who Would Be King a recognisable human centre before the larger mechanics take over. The central situation in The Kid Who Would Be King comes into focus without a long explanation: Alex, a 12 year old boy, and his friends fight an evil sorceress with the help of Excalibur, the sword of King Arthur, in a bid to save the world from her atrocities. Across its 2h running time, Joe Cornish keeps The Kid Who Would Be King engaging in bursts but unable to maintain the same control.
What keeps The Kid Who Would Be King emotionally readable is Louis Ashbourne Serkis, whose choices establish a consistent point of view. In scenes with Denise Gough, The Kid Who Would Be King gains tension from two performers refusing to produce the same kind of energy. Dean Chaumoo contributes a separate rhythm to The Kid Who Would Be King and helps the supporting material feel less purely functional. The direction by Joe Cornish gives the cast of The Kid Who Would Be King room to connect the quieter beats with the larger ones.
Joe Cornish gives The Kid Who Would Be King a directorial line that is engaging in bursts but unable to maintain the same control from its opening promise to its final movement. The staging of The Kid Who Would Be King is strongest when Joe Cornish allows motivation to determine pace instead of reversing that priority. Viewed as a complete piece, The Kid Who Would Be King confirms that worthwhile ideas compete with an uneven structure across most of the running time. A tighter version of The Kid Who Would Be King would address how the pace alternates between hurry and drift, yet the surrounding work remains persuasive.
Beneath its plot, The Kid Who Would Be King is most interested in responsibility under pressure and the cost of impulsive courage. That concern becomes visible through Louis Ashbourne Serkis, whose choices allow The Kid Who Would Be King to explore an idea without stopping for a speech. Alex gives the themes of The Kid Who Would Be King a concrete dramatic form rather than leaving them abstract. The emotional value of The Kid Who Would Be King grows whenever Joe Cornish trusts the audience to connect behaviour with the larger question.
The most useful technical choice in The Kid Who Would Be King is physical momentum, because it helps the audience understand both space and mood. Big Talk Productions frames The Kid Who Would Be King through physical momentum without letting surface finish replace character. Drawing on its United Kingdom background, The Kid Who Would Be King uses readable staging to give familiar material a more specific texture. Cinematography, sound and editing meet effectively in The Kid Who Would Be King whenever a sequence must feel large without losing its human scale.
The plot of The Kid Who Would Be King is built around the uneasy relationship between Alex and Excalibur. For Louis Ashbourne Serkis, that relationship gives The Kid Who Would Be King an emotional objective stronger than simple forward motion. The screenplay associated with Joe Cornish lets King Arthur reshape the direction of The Kid Who Would Be King in stages. Although the treatment of the central character could be sharper, The Kid Who Would Be King never entirely loses the thread established at the beginning.
The Kid Who Would Be King ends as a qualified recommendation, especially for action fans who want spectacle tied to recognisable stakes. What remains from The Kid Who Would Be King is the relationship between Louis Ashbourne Serkis, physical momentum and Joe Cornish's control of mood. The weakness that the pace alternates between hurry and drift narrows the impact of The Kid Who Would Be King without cancelling its better work. On balance, The Kid Who Would Be King gives its intended viewers a distinctive experience rather than a completely anonymous piece of content.
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