A new fantasy film that left fans divided has finally hit Tubi, meaning that it’s streaming for free—and you won’t want to miss it, especially if you like weird movies akin to Robert Eggers’ The Northman. Based on Arthurian legend, it’s nothing short of a trippy fever-dream, endlessly captivating, and beautifully filmed. It’s the perfect arthouse take on fantasy, epic in both its vision and execution, even if some viewers couldn’t keep up with its bold strides.
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The Green Knight stars Dev Patel, Alicia Vikander, and Joel Edgerton, and centers around the story of Sir Gawain (Patel), the reckless nephew of King Arthur, as he embarks on a daring quest of his own. His mission? Confront the legendary Green Knight. The film descends into a sort of madness as Gawain encounters ghosts, giants, thieves, and those who would throw him off his path, and his journey becomes something deeper—Gawain must now define his character and prove his worth.
Critics and Audiences are Divided on The Green Knight
The film earned an impressive 89% with critics, thanks to its bold choices and the originality with which it treads familiar lore. It’s dark without becoming grim, spellbinding and haunting, and carries the heart of it throughout its runtime, never losing sight of the hero’s journey Gawain has placed himself on or getting lost in the inherent sense of weirdness it has shrouded itself in. Critic Dave Gianni of InSession Film captures what sets the film apart beautifully, saying, “Possibly the most beautiful, and near inscrutable film this year, is David Lowery’s epic, Arthurian tale. In a film world full of obvious explanations, The Green Knight provides precious few.”
But that seems to be exactly what turned casual viewers off—the sense of strangeness and the lack of spoon-fed answers, along with more diverse casting choices. “Artsy and boring AF,” said one viewer. Another added, “Too slow, and doesn’t make any sense. There is no action. The main prop… the magical green axe is never used for anything.” But not every viewer had issues with a film that was more challenging to digest than your typical sword-swinging fantasy, with one saying, “It is a slow-moving meditative film, but very well done, leaving you amazed with extremely memorable scenes and situations and an approach that the fantasy genre definitely needed.”
In all, The Green Knight was a film that wasn’t made for audiences that wanted something quick and easy to digest. And while it has a fever-dream style that has become synonymous with other A24 films, it stands on its own, earning the impressive ratings critics gave it for both its style and substance.
Do you have a favorite moment from The Green Knight? Let us know your thoughts in the comments. And don’t forget to check out the ComicBook forum to see what other fans are saying.
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Official art by Bastien Lecouffe-Deharme -
A photo of the Retrovolt Arcade taken in 2017, showing several classic arcade cabinets and stools. -
Image courtesy of Tor Books/Macmillan -
Courtesy of Saber Interactive
