Fanboy Rant of the Day

Bryan Singer, he of The Usual Suspects and X-Men fame, is apparently gathering steam for a re-make of the 1981 Arthurian epic Excalibur. I've been a fan of Thomas Malory's Le Morte d'Arthur since I took a class on it in college - though narratively uneven and stylistically rough around the edges, it is nevertheless, in my opinion, a masterly exploration of eternal themes of honor, loyalty, love, guilt, and repentance, and to this day the most powerful and emotionally affecting telling of the Matter of Britain yet written. Though I liked the original Excalibur well enough, it was in many ways a missed opportunity, as it left out much of the story of Launcelot and most of the thematic and psychological depth found in Malory's work. My hope is that this re-make, should it come to pass, will capture those aspects of the story that the original didn't - with better special effects to boot.

Then again, perhaps I shouldn't get too excited - for every pre-modern literary classic that Hollywood's gotten right a la Lord of the Rings, there's one that's grossly disserved a la Troy.