Avalon High

I haven't read the book but from what I have researched into it the movie actually brought surprises and switched it up compared to the book. So I appreciate that.

The overall plot is very slow and what promises a "fantasy" genre story isn't the case until the last 20 minutes. Before that it's full of teen melodrama that is stretched so thin that you really don't care for any characters.

It for the most part follows the plot of the book for the first 70% then diverges. The new ending and plot does not make as much sense. Its like they suddenly changed writers and directors almost to the end, there is not much set up for the ending. Its a pretty good DCOM, but I would recommend the book for a more complete story that follows a better plot line.

As much as I like the actors who make up the cast, I was expecting this to be very similar to the book. It differed greatly. I finally decided to watch the movie and as I was watching, I felt like it wasn't like the book I read years ago. I reread the book right after I finished the movie and yup, different. For a disney channel movie (I think this premiered on there), it's not bad. I think what happened was that Disney deemed the book too dark and possibly more romantic for it to be a kids/tween/teen movie. The movie changed a lot of important details and missed out on many scenes. I was disappointed bc I love the book. I would have preferred for it to been a tv show or have another company with less censorship do it, such as Netflix.

What a strange film to come from the Magic Kingdom about the mythical and legendary King Arthur and his Knights Of The Round Table and his court at Camelot. Imagine going to a school where apparently the only thing you study are the Arthurian legends. Oh and of course play football. If this was a basketball school they could have played the one that Zac Efron and Corbin Bleu graduated from.

Brittany Robertson is a new transfer student to Avalon High School a school where the usual typical kids are going, the jocks, the nerds, the grade grubbers, et al. She gets into her class of Camelot 101 and a strange thing seems to be happening. Gregg Sulkin has a girlfriend named Jen played by Molly Quinn who is cheating on him with his friend Lance played by Christopher Tavarez. All too familiar with the kids studying up on the Arthurian stories.

I will say this there is an interesting twist in the plot, but if you do take a look at the names of all the principal characters in the cast list you will figure out what the twist to come is.

One thing I could not figure out is why British born Gregg Sulkin who kept his accent when he was teenage werewolf on Wizards Of Waverly Place tried so hard to lose it here. Especially with the nature of the story line.

A nice cast makes a really incredible story bearable viewing.

This is not your average review and this is not your average movie.

Imagine a world when someone not familiar with western culture stumbles onto a random Harry Potter movie? Or a Matrix entry? Do you think with no prior point of reference they would "get" the film as intended? My point is this -- I am a big fan of the Arthur legend and have read a lot about it, both fiction and non-fiction. I am one of several million people (approximately) who finds the core story moving and compelling and almost visceral.

This movie, which even a casual observer will see does not follow the "usual" Disney formula, and is almost entirely plot-driven, and was clearly written by a Arthur buff. And if you are an Arthur buff when you see it, it will have much more impact than the reviews here would indicate.

So, that said, this is a solid film and a young Britt Robertson has more than enough charm to keep things moving to the conclusion.

For those intrigued by the POV expressed in this review and want more, I suggest Excalibur (1981) for film buffs and "The Forever King" by Molly Cochrane for readers.

It will be well worth the effort.