King Arthur: Legend of the Sword: David Beckham cameo mocked by critics
'A fist-biter of a performance'
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Your support makes all the difference.With Guy Ritchie’s King Arthur: Legend of the Sword fast approaching cinemas, numerous clips have begun appearing online, Warner Bros. hoping to instil some excitement in fans.
For some reason, David Beckham’s cameo was revealed to the world, the football player’s gruesome face on display for all to see.
In the clip, Beckham’s character — named Trigger — tells Charlie Hunnam’s Arthur to wrap his hands around the mythical sword Excalibur.
After attempting to pull the sword up with one hand, Trigger shouts “Oi, both hands,” to which Arthur complies, lifting the sword while the camera pans slow-motion over Beckham’s face. Watch below.
Social media users have been relatively dismissive of Beckham’s acting, as have critics. In their review, Empire call the cameo a “misguided, fist-biter of a performance — almost impressive when you consider it features a man who’s actually from Leytonstone playing an unconvincing Cockney — and the fact that this piece of stunt casting overshadows a hugely significant character moment for Arthur bespeaks the film’s pervading ill-judged, shouty feel.”
The Telegraph were equally critical of the scene, the publication’s critic commenting: “Even the sword-pulling scene itself is sabotaged from within by a David Beckham cameo that goes on for line after forehead-slapping line, and saps the moment of its mythic excitement. The former footballer appears under facial scarring make-up as one of Vortigern's soldiers, and shows just about enough dramatic range to have played the stone the sword got stuck in.”
Overall, the reviews for Legend of the Sword have been relatively negative, the film currently holding an 18 percent rating on Rotten Tomatoes. The film reaches cinemas 19 May.
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