The Atlantic

In <em>The Kid Who Would Be King</em>, Arthurian Legend Meets Harry Potter

Joe Cornish’s fantasy-adventure film is a delightful, modern take on the popular “chosen one” narratives that have long dominated storytelling.
Source: Fox

At the beginning of , Britain is inexorably divided. What has sown such chaos in the country? It’s unclear, but the newspaper headlines scream about war, impending catastrophe, and a future even more doomed than the present. Reading this, you’d be forgiven for thinking Joe Cornish’s new film is a sober piece of nonfiction, but it’s actually a delightful modern fantasy: a recasting of classic Arthurian myth via a group of middle-school adventurers. In , Britain’s turmoil can be undone only by

You’re reading a preview, subscribe to read more.

More from The Atlantic

The Atlantic8 min readAmerican Government
The Return of the John Birch Society
Michael Smart chuckled as he thought back to their banishment. Truthfully he couldn’t say for sure what the problem had been, why it was that in 2012, the John Birch Society—the far-right organization historically steeped in conspiracism and oppositi
The Atlantic17 min read
How America Became Addicted to Therapy
A few months ago, as I was absent-mindedly mending a pillow, I thought, I should quit therapy. Then I quickly suppressed the heresy. Among many people I know, therapy is like regular exercise or taking vitamin D: something a sensible person does rout
The Atlantic7 min readAmerican Government
The Americans Who Need Chaos
This is Work in Progress, a newsletter about work, technology, and how to solve some of America’s biggest problems. Sign up here. Several years ago, the political scientist Michael Bang Petersen, who is based in Denmark, wanted to understand why peop

Related Books & Audiobooks