CONSIDERING that, in this blockbuster-packed summer, poor realistic King Arthur must battle a man with spider powers, a green ogre and a dazzling boy wizard at the box office, not many of us would be surprised if he came a cropper.

But he doesn't fall on his own sword entirely, as King Arthur turns out to be a super-serious, but entertaining, mini-epic, which strips away the legend, dispenses with the wizardry, but still possesses an intermittent ability to thrill.

Boasting a practically all-Brit cast, led by unassuming hunk Clive Owen (Chancer), it has interestingly combined them with powerhouse producer Jerry Bruckheimer (Pirates of the Caribbean) and director Antoine Fuqua (Training Day).

As such, it's a combination of unstarry, solid performances, big money set pieces and quirky interpretation.

This Arthur is based on the fifth-century Roman commander of Briton descent, Artorius, who fought Saxons for the emperor.

He's the leader of a varied bunch of pagan knights, including Lancelot (Ioan Gruffudd), Tristan (Mads Mikkelsen), Gawain (Joel Edgerton), Galahad (Daniel Defoe's Hugh Dancy), and Bors (Ray Winstone), who have helped him on a long and bloody 15-year crusade.

But even though Arthur loves God and Rome, he finds his loyalty to the latter tested when, after the campaign ends, his knights still have their freedom withheld until they do just one last job, rescuing the boy who is destined to become Pope.

A bit peeved, they set out and, along the way, encounter religious persecution, a sassy prisoner named Guinevere (Keira Knightley) and rampaging madman Cerdic (Stellan Skarsgard), before a dramatic final battle for the sake of Britain.

Inevitably, this film will be compared on some level to the epics Braveheart and Gladiator, but it pitches its tent in a very different camp from both.

It aims to tell an intricate story, not one which is so easily reduced down to Bruckheimer's standard high concept "men in the air/on sea" stories. This Arthur is more than a mere knight on horseback.

The acting is universally and successfully understated (save for Skarsgard's "kill everybody" clich of a Nordic nutter), which may disappoint those who would prefer more of a Gibson/Crowe powerhouse up there leading the troops.

But a terrific battle on ice and some entertaining banter throughout keep it ticking along nicely.

Sadly, issues with the certificate meant that the meat of the battle scenes was cast to the cutting-room floor, leaving a rather bloodless epic with too much historical chat and not enough savage slaughter.

Bottom line, this crusade just takes itself too seriously. If you want your Merlin shooting sparks and chanting spells while swords are being pulled from stones, then this seemingly extended episode of Robin of Sherwood will seem anything but legendary.