Friday Flicks: 'Camelot' (2011)

Movie critic/cyber-stalker Amanda Ronan finds a horse in the history of Jamie Campbell Bower, known for his roles in Sweeny Todd, Twilight, Harry Potter and now The Mortal Instruments: City of Bone.

From Amanda:

I’m riding the Jamie Campbell Bower wave ladies and gents and I don’t intend on stopping anytime soon. In case you didn’t know, The Mortal Instruments: City of Bones opened yesterday. I’ve been a fan of the books for a long time, so it was extremely satisfying to see that the movie did the story justice. Jamie Campbell Bower (who I originally doubted could pull off the role) was Jace in all his arrogant, blonde, seraph blade wielding glory. So, in all my cyber stalker glory I happened across some of Bower’s earlier work, Camelot, a Starz TV series based on the rise of King Arthur.

Season One begins with the death of King Uther at the hands of his wicked daughter Morgan.

Merlin in a desperate bid to preserve Uther’s kingdom and plagued with nightmares, searches out the illegitimate (and only) son of Uther. Which is (drumroll please) Arthur, a young farm boy who up until now has spent most of his days exploring with his brother and bedding milkmaids.

Meanwhile, Morgan throws in her lot with, well, King Lot, her father’s most hated enemy.

Bear with me here, I promise there is actually a horse in this “horse movie review.”

Boom…

Jamie Campbell Bower on a horse. Done.

So, anyway, Arthur, Merlin and Arthur’s loyal step brother Kay make their way to the ruins of Camelot to prepare their bid for the throne. Arthur’s evil half-sister, Morgan, soon finds about all this and is not at all pleased. She shows up with King Lot to put an end to the claims of the “pretender.” She sniffs him in lieu of a DNA test…

…which kind of freaks him out, declares him a fake but then is rebuffed by his long lost mother (who apparently can identify her son point blank despite the fact that she last saw him as a one day old infant).

You may recognize the actress playing Arthur’s mother, Claire Forlani, from Amazing Racer.

King Lot and Morgan angrily storm out of Camelot only to return the next morning with lots of hairy men on horseback.

This pilot episode ends with a full on cliffhanger, full of threats of future violence and a real heartbreaking moment for Arthur and Kay.

You’ll just have to watch and see!

I love Arthurian legends, so it is not a surprise to me that I liked this TV series. While, Merlin (BBC) still holds rank as my #1 Arthurian TV series, I think Camelot holds its own especially since it really is meant for an entirely different audience. Merlin is PG, with lots of humor, while Camelot is most definitely “Intended for Mature Audiences Only” in a very Philippa Gregory sense. If you read those books, you know what I’m talking about… don’t act like you don’t know what I’m talking about! Also along those lines, Camelot should be viewed as pure entertainment. Please do not watch this series and expect to pass a college exam on 5th and 6th century Britain, mmmkay?

On the acting side of things, the series was well done. Merlin is played by Joseph Fiennes and Eva Green shines in a truly evil (insert cackling witch laugh) sort of way as Morgan. There are also plenty of Hotty McTrotty knights played by Philip Winchester, Diarmaid Murtagh, and Clive Standen.

And did I forget to mention Jamie Campbell Bower…

By the way, in an MTV interview he admitted he was a unicorn. Just sayin’.

In the end I give Camelot only 2 Golden Horseshoes because, while it had man candy a-plenty, I would liked to have seen a bit more horse related sequences rather than just using them as taxis from point A to B. Where do the horses go when the characters hop off of them in the courtyard or open field for battle? I’ve always wondered…

Camelot is available on Amazon and iTunes.

Go Riding.

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About the Author

Amanda’s experience with horses is just as eclectic as her taste in movies.  She has dabbled in almost every discipline from eventing to team penning to fox hunting.  She started riding when she was 8 with her local 4-H club in Western performance events.  She moved on to the AQHA circuit with her Quarter Horse, “Aggie,” when she was 12 and he was a green 2 year old.  Through college she held a working student position at Seahorse Sporthorses, owned by Terri Adams, where she was introduced to the wonderful world of show jumping and eventing.  Along with Aggie, who just turned 20 years old, she has two OTTBs in her herd named “Gump” and “Lizard.”  Amanda continues her jumping training with Ms. Adams and works on that necessary evil also known as dressage with Mimi Burch of Blue Moon Farm.

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