Netflix’s Very R-Rated King Arthur Epic Is A Sexy, Bloody Road Trip

By Chris Snellgrove
| Published 17 seconds ago

Do you ever long for a film that smashes together several very different genres, effectively creating something new? The Green Knight (2021) is currently streaming on Netflix, and what I like best about this film is that it blends together two of my favorite genres: high fantasy and bonkers road trip. That is, it has all the magic and mystical adventure you’d expect from a Lord of the Rings movie and all the wacky supporting characters and inexplicable side quests you’d expect from a National Lampoon’s Vacation movie.

The result is something oddly hypnotic, and this film transforms a dusty text from the 14th century into something provocative and unapologetically sexy. You can enjoy it as a poignant deconstruction of one of the most famous works in literary history, or you can simply enjoy it as a beautiful road trip full of sex, violence, and monsters. With more than a few drops of horror movie blood in its DNA, The Green Knight remains one of the most memorable weird films of the last decade. 

Working On His Knight Moves

The premise of The Green Knight is that a young warrior, Sir Gawain, is eager to prove himself by landing a blow on the titular Green Knight, ignoring the warning that, in one year’s time, he’ll need to receive a similar blow from his foe. He doesn’t think that will be a problem after he decapitates his foe. However, the Green Knight calmly picks up his head and reminds the young man of the bargain he made. One year later, Sir Gawain gathers his courage and his honor as he embarks on a road trip that can only end one way: with his own decapitation.

The Green Knight doesn’t have too many big names: the titular villain is played by Ralph Ineson (best known for The Witch), and Barry Keoghan (best known for Saltburn) has a small role as a scavenger. Sean Harris (best known for Mission Impossible: Rogue Nation) plays King Arthur, while Alicia Vikander (best known for Ex Machina) plays Sir Gawain’s love interest. As for Gawain, he is played by Dev Patel (best known for Slumdog Millionaire), who is mesmerizing as our lead. He sells the initial cockiness of his hot-blooded knight as well as the humbling transformation of his quest, ultimately making one of literature’s most famous characters flawed and compellingly down-to-Earth.

Questions, Axed And Answered

If some of this sounds familiar, that means you haven’t entirely drunk away the memories of your college Literature courses. Sir Gawain and the Green Knight was a 14th-century verse poem written by an unknown scribe, and it’s considered one of the most popular and influential stories about King Arthur and his court. The original poem inspired Lord of the Rings creator J.R.R. Tolkien, and in a bit of inspired irony, the beautiful picaresque production of the movie clearly takes some visual inspiration from the LOTR adaptations directed by Peter Jackson.

Despite its lush visuals and impeccable casting, The Green Knight didn’t have enough “green nights” at the box office. The movie ultimately earned $20 million against a budget of $15 million, making it far less of a breakout pop culture success than other A24 productions like Hereditary and Midsommar. Nonetheless, this medieval mashup was a huge hit with the critics and with anyone who loves losing themselves in an impossibly detailed fantasy world.

A Scary Good Time

When The Green Knight came out, it was one of those films that delighted critics and baffled general audiences. On Rotten Tomatoes, it has an 89 percent critical score, with reviewers praising the film for being such a fascinating deconstruction of its medieval source material. They also commended the movie as a spectacle, one that successfully cast a spell on the audience. Not everyone who watched felt that way, though: The Green Knight notably has a 50 percent audience score, with general moviegoers complaining that the film deviates too much from the original tale and frustratingly leaves major aspects of the story up to interpretation.

So, with critics loving it and casual audiences hating it, that brings us to the big question: why should you watch The Green Knight? The first, most obvious reason is that this film is a visual feast. From beginning to end, everything feels mesmerizingly dreamlike, and each scene will bring you deeper and deeper into this film’s fantastic spell. While they are very different types of movies, the visuals in The Green Knight often reminded me of the surreal visual landscape of Mandy, which turned every frame into the nightmare fuel of a fever dream.

Dungeons And Dreamers

Plus, at the risk of glazing the picture a little too much, The Green Knight may be the best fantasy movie since the original Fellowship of the Ring. That’s partially because of the amazing worldbuilding. Like the Hobbits in Peter Jackson’s seminal film, those watching this modern medieval masterpiece never know what fantastic vision will greet them next. For better or for worse, The Green Knight also cribs from the original Lord of the Rings texts in focusing less on fantastic battles and more on exploration and introspection. That’s bad news for those expecting endless duels, but great news for those wanting a fantasy movie that makes them really think.

It may not seem like it from the outside looking in, but The Green Knight is also perfectly aimed at men because this tale of knights, fights, and medieval tights is secretly all about exploring masculine ideas. What does it mean to be honorable, this movie asks, and why is it important to put your life on the line for what you believe? What does it mean to dedicate your life to a higher cause, and how is such a decision as confining as it is liberating?

Your Sexy Adventure Awaits

I get that you might have stayed away from The Green Knight because it looks like a frilly, frou-frou fantasy, but trust me: this movie is steeped in the chivalric code of the medieval world, and its exploration of what it means to be a real man almost shockingly echoes the concerns of the modern world. Plus, this exploration of masculine ideals is wrapped in such stunning visuals that you won’t want to miss a single frame. A film about manly men, served up with some serious eye candy. Honestly, what more could you want? 

Are you ready to dive into the trippiest literary adaptation ever filmed, or would you rather just read the Cliff’s Notes rather than finish The Green Knight? The only way to find out is to undertake your own epic quest (from the bathroom to the living room) and retrieve the most enchanted object in your home: the remote control. It might not help you cut the head off an immortal warrior, but it will help transport you to the most ambitiously weird blockbuster of the last decade.