Overall Rating
  Awesome: 36.79%
Worth A Look: 26.42%
Average: 13.99%
Pretty Bad: 5.7%
Total Crap: 17.1%
8 reviews, 145 user ratings
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| Knight's Tale, A |
by Brian McKay
"Yes, I know Rock n' Roll wasn't around in the 1400's. Just DEAL WITH IT."
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The most common description I've heard of this film from critics is that it is like "MTV's Gladiator". That is misleading, but not by much. A more apt description would be "VH-1 presents: Camelot". Historical accuracy is cashed in for a classic rock soundtrack and a forest of shattered lances, but the trade-off is worthwhile.This is one of those films that you'd think would have sucked so bad on paper that it would have never seen the light of a projector. The anachronistic costumes, intrusive classic rock soundtrack, and all-too-contemporary sounding (and often poorly written) dialogue should make this a steaming turd. The desciptions you may have read in other (less flattering) reviews make it sound truly awful. Peasants singing "we will rock you?" Nobles dancing to David Bowie? Geoffery Chaucer saying hackneyed vegas lounge act lines like: "Thanks, folks, I'll be here all week?" Gimme a fucking break! And the running length of over 2 hours would make you think that it goes on seemingly forever.
Don't ask me how, but it works. Barely, at times, but it works.
It goes by surprisingly fast, and the tongue-in-cheek approach to the storytelling, combined with all the lance-breaking, sword-clanging, and knights being slammed off of their horses at various film speeds and angles, makes it a highly entertaining 2+ hours indeed. I thought that watching guys gallop at each other and knock each other off their horses with long pointy sticks for that length of time would get boring very quickly, but man was I wrong. The jousting scenes, though all quite similar, still manage to be exciting, as is watching some poor bastard in a full suit of armor fly from his horse and tumble to the earth. You can almost hear Ash from "Army of Darkness" screaming "OH, THAT'S GOTTA HURT" in the background. The film reduces jousting to the medieval equivalent of professional wrestling (except that the matches aren't fixed), but this is much more entertaining than watching Stone Cold smash a chair over someone's head. With any luck, we'll be seeing jousting tournaments as a regular staple on ESPN any day now.
In a nutshell, the film tells the story of one William Thatcher, a peasant squire whose Lord dies of natural causes in the middle of a tournament. William dons his master's armor and finishes for him, winning the contest. However, he then uses the opportunity to pursue his dream of becoming a knight, and continues to pose as his master in order to compete in the jousting tourneys.
Heath Ledger was a good pick for the title role of William Thatcher. Not only do the chicks love him, but he carries himself with an unassuming charm and confidence. His love interest, Jocelyn, played by Shannon Soassamon (a poor man's Angelina Jolie) is far less dynamic. Though her looks are up to snuff, she's a mediocre actress and her wardrobe is appallingly outlandish. She looks like a reject from the 1980's, not a princess of the 1680's. She brings no charm or depth to the part of his aristocratic love interest and is ultimately just another pretty face, one that will hopefully be quickly forgotten after this film. The beautiful, sharp-tempered blacksmith, played by Laura Fraser, would have been a better romantic choice.
Of the film's many comedic moments (whether intentional or not), the best are those that feature Paul Bettany as the famous poet Geoffery Chaucer. The writer unites with William and his crew and becomes their official documents forger (so that William, a mere peasant, can get into tournaments that allow only nobles to compete) and master of ceremonies. The outrageous introductions for William that he gives to the crowd just before every tourney never fail to deliver the laughs.
As for the rock soundtrack, it ends up feeling much less intrusive than you would think. Though it seemed a bit out of place at first, I quickly got used to it and found myself later singing along to Thin Lizzy's "The Boys are Back in Town" as William and company rode into London to a hero's welcome.This film isn't about historical accuracy. We have the Discovery channel for that. This is about guys getting lances busted over their heads and getting knocked on their asses, and in that department it delivers in spades. Unfortunately, It only delivers once, because this movie feels much longer on a second viewing, and you start to notice little things in the coregraphy such as, oh, the fact that the other guys' lances are pointing AWAY from the protagonist. I can't believe I missed it the first time I sat through it.
link directly to this review at http://www.efilmcritic.com/review.php?movie=4627&reviewer=258
originally posted: 05/24/01 18:12:05
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USA
11-May-2001 (PG-13)
DVD: 27-Sep-2005
UK
N/A
Australia
23-Aug-2001
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