美国国家公共电台 NPR Guy Ritchie's 'King Arthur: Legends Of The Sword' Flops At The Box Office

 

ARI SHAPIRO, HOST:

The mythology¹ of King Arthur has all the ingredients for a hit blockbuster movie - magic, romance, shirtless guys with muscles swinging swords. Guy Ritchie's newest take on the story is "King Arthur: Legend Of The Sword," and it's not good. That's one of the kinder ways of putting it. That's why it may end up losing money at the box office. NPR's Andrew Limbong explains.

ANDREW LIMBONG, BYLINE²: In "King Arthur: Legend Of The Sword," Charlie Hunnam plays Arthur with a touch of bad boy cockiness.

(SOUNDBITE OF FILM, "KING ARTHUR: LEGEND OF THE SWORD")

CHARLIE HUNNAM: (As Arthur) I see what you're doing. You're trying to get me to do something razzle-dazzle with that sword.

LIMBONG: But it wasn't quite enough charisma³ to save the movie. Variety called it loud and obnoxious⁴. Vulture headlined their review with the words formulaic and dumb. Newsday said it was an unsuccessful mix of saucy⁵ wit and portentous⁶ sorcery. Now, movies can get bad reviews and still do well in ticket sales, but this one didn't.

ANTHONY D'ALESSANDRO: It's a big bomb. There have been bigger, but it's a big bomb.

LIMBONG: That's Anthony D'Alessandro. He covers the box office for Deadline.

D'ALESSANDRO: Sources say it could lose anywhere from 150 to over 200 million.

LIMBONG: That's dollars we're talking. According to the site Box Office Mojo, "King Arthur" made $14.7 million this weekend domestically, just a fraction of its big studio budget. That puts it in the same company as other recent flops⁷ like "The Lone⁸ Ranger⁹" or "47 Ronin."

D'ALESSANDRO: And then there was "John Carter Of Mars," which actually lost more money at 306 million.

LIMBONG: "King Arthur" doesn't have a history of killing¹⁰ it at the box office.

DORSEY ARMSTRONG: I challenge you to find another figure from literature that is as well-known and as popular throughout time and around the world as "Arthur" is.

LIMBONG: That's Dorsey Armstrong, professor of medieval literature at Purdue University and editor in chief of the academic journal Arthuriana. Dorsey says the inherent bigness of the "Arthur" canon is what makes it so difficult to put into film.

ARMSTRONG: There are so many different Arthurs that I don't think it's ever possible to please everybody.

LIMBONG: Think of the super stern Clive Owen interpretation¹¹ from 2004...

(SOUNDBITE OF FILM, "KING ARTHUR")

CLIVE OWEN: (As Arthur) And it would be good for you to mark my face, Saxon, for the next time you see it, it will be the last thing you see on this Earth.

LIMBONG: ...Or Sean Connery's more regal take.

(SOUNDBITE OF FILM, "FIRST KNIGHT")

SEAN CONNERY: (As King Arthur) I am Arthur of Camelot, and I command you now all to fight. Fight.

LIMBONG: Dorsey says there was one movie that really nailed it, though.

(SOUNDBITE OF FILM, "MONTY PYTHON AND THE HOLY GRAIL")

JOHN CLEESE: (As The Black Knight) I move for no man.

GRAHAM CHAPMAN: (As King Arthur) So be it.

ARMSTRONG: The best King Arthur movie is "Monty Python And The Holy Grail."

(SOUNDBITE OF FILM, "MONTY PYTHON AND THE HOLY GRAIL")

CHAPMAN: (As King Arthur) Now stand aside, worthy¹² adversary¹³.

CLEESE: (As The Black Knight) Tis but a scratch.

CHAPMAN: (As King Arthur) A scratch - your arm's off.

CLEESE: (As The Black Knight) No, it isn't.

CHAPMAN: (As King Arthur) Well, what's that, then?

CLEESE: (As The Black Knight) I've had worse.

LIMBONG: Andrew Limbong, NPR News.

(SOUNDBITE OF REAL ESTATE SONG, "DARLING")

1 mythology   

n.神话，神话学，神话集

参考例句：

• In Greek mythology,Zeus was the ruler of Gods and men.在希腊神话中，宙斯是众神和人类的统治者。
• He is the hero of Greek mythology.他是希腊民间传说中的英雄。

2 byline   

n.署名；v.署名

参考例句：

• His byline was absent as well.他的署名也不见了。
• We wish to thank the author of this article which carries no byline.我们要感谢这篇文章的那位没有署名的作者。

3 charisma   

n.(大众爱戴的)领袖气质，魅力

参考例句：

• He has enormous charisma. He is a giant of a man.他有超凡的个人魅力，是个伟人。
• I don't have the charisma to pull a crowd this size.我没有那么大的魅力，能吸引这么多人。

4 obnoxious   

adj.极恼人的，讨人厌的，可憎的

参考例句：

• These fires produce really obnoxious fumes and smoke.这些火炉冒出来的烟气确实很难闻。
• He is the most obnoxious man I know.他是我认识的最可憎的人。

5 saucy   

adj.无礼的；俊俏的；活泼的

参考例句：

• He was saucy and mischievous when he was working.他工作时总爱调皮捣蛋。
• It was saucy of you to contradict your father.你顶撞父亲，真是无礼。

6 portentous   

adj.不祥的，可怕的，装腔作势的

参考例句：

• The present aspect of society is portentous of great change.现在的社会预示着重大变革的发生。
• There was nothing portentous or solemn about him.He was bubbling with humour.他一点也不装腔作势或故作严肃，浑身散发着幽默。

7 flops   

n.失败( flop的名词复数 )v.（指书、戏剧等）彻底失败( flop的第三人称单数 )；（因疲惫而）猛然坐下；（笨拙地、不由自主地或松弛地）移动或落下；砸锅

参考例句：

• a pair of flip-flops 一双人字拖鞋
• HPC environments are often measured in terms of FLoating point Operations Per Second (FLOPS) . HPC环境通常以每秒浮点运算次数(FLOPS)加以度量。 来自互联网

8 lone   

adj.孤寂的，单独的；唯一的

参考例句：

• A lone sea gull flew across the sky.一只孤独的海鸥在空中飞过。
• She could see a lone figure on the deserted beach.她在空旷的海滩上能看到一个孤独的身影。

9 ranger   

n.国家公园管理员，护林员；骑兵巡逻队员

参考例句：

• He was the head ranger of the national park.他曾是国家公园的首席看守员。
• He loved working as a ranger.他喜欢做护林人。

10 killing   

n.巨额利润；突然赚大钱，发大财

参考例句：

• Investors are set to make a killing from the sell-off.投资者准备清仓以便大赚一笔。
• Last week my brother made a killing on Wall Street.上个周我兄弟在华尔街赚了一大笔。

11 interpretation   

n.解释，说明，描述；艺术处理

参考例句：

• His statement admits of one interpretation only.他的话只有一种解释。
• Analysis and interpretation is a very personal thing.分析与说明是个很主观的事情。

12 worthy   

adj.(of)值得的，配得上的；有价值的

参考例句：

• I did not esteem him to be worthy of trust.我认为他不值得信赖。
• There occurred nothing that was worthy to be mentioned.没有值得一提的事发生。

13 adversary   

adj.敌手，对手

参考例句：

• He saw her as his main adversary within the company.他将她视为公司中主要的对手。
• They will do anything to undermine their adversary's reputation.他们会不择手段地去损害对手的名誉。