The Kid Who Would Be King Review: 6 Ups & 2 Downs

4. The Surprisingly Sharp Visuals

The trailers did a pretty mediocre job of selling the movie's sense of spectacle, so it's quite a pleasant surprise that long stretches of this movie are absolutely gorgeous.

Yes, the school scenes are flatly shot like any typical British sitcom, but cinematographer Bill Pope - who lenses most of Edgar Wright's movies these days - does eye-watering work with the film's many lush vistas, exploiting natural sunlight to make the British countryside looks nothing short of ravishing.

Given the fairly modest budget for an effects-heavy adventure film, the CGI also looks unexpectedly solid for the most part.

There are a few moments that look a bit blurry, but for the most part the battle scenes are crisp and clean, and it basically looks far more consistent and respectable than many tentpole films with $200+ million budgets (looking at you, Justice League).

Perhaps if the marketing trained its focus more on the film's stylistic flair, it might've actually stood a chance at the U.S. box office.