A Knight's Tale

Rating:
Summary: Watch it a second time...please
Review: After reading other reviews, I'm compelled to write one myself!

The first time I watched this movie, the English teacher in me came out. I thought the movie was bad, bad, bad. There was nothing in it that belonged in the Medieval era. The styles, the personalities, music, nothing.

But my husband liked it, so we bought it and I watched it again. What a wonderfully delightful movie! The plot is of course much the same as other movies...damsel and knight and jousting, but the way it is directed is awesome.

If you don't look at this movie as a documentary of the Medieval era, it is perfectly wonderful. Get rid of all expectations when you put it in to watch and I guarantee it will be the best movie you've watched in quite some time. I know my husband and I do...we watch it at least once a week!

Rating:
Summary: Bad Lead Actors
Review: Heath Ledger stars as William Thatcher, the son of a poor man who rises to become a knight in the movie "A Knight's Tale". William is told by his father John (Christopher Cazenove) that a man can change his stars. John sends William over to France in the service of a wealthy man to do just that.

After several years have gone by, William comes into a little money and decides to use it to become a knight. The only problem is that knighthood is reserved for the nobility. With the help of his friends, William manages to convince everyone else that he is in fact a knight by the name of Ulrich von Lichtenstein. As Ulrich, William enters jousting tournaments to earn more money for better equipment to become a better knight.

Along the way William meets and falls in love with Jocelyn (Channyn Sossamon), a beautiful member of the nobility. William's attempts to woo Jocelyn bring him in direct conflict with another of her suitors, Adhemar, the Count of Anjou, played by Rufus Sewell.

As most people probably know, "A Knight's Tale" is not a strictly period piece. While the setting is purely Medieval, the language and the mannerisms of the people are closer to modern conceptions of what Medieval times were like than what they really were. And of course, Medieval people weren't going around singing "We Will Rock You" and dancing to "Golden Years".

"A Knight's Tale" asks the viewer to suspend a lot of his beliefs to enjoy this film. Unfortunately, it asks too much. I certainly can overlook the insertion of rock music in the film or the un-Medieval like behavior of most of the film's characters. What I can't overlook though is the annoyingly lovestruck portrayal given by Ledger, the unworthiness of William's intended love Jocelyn, and the comic-bookesque evil performance of Sewell as Adhemar. That the three main actors give such over-the-top performances just ruins whatever charm this movie might have.

The only things that save this film from one-star purgatory are the performances of William's band of supporters and the story line between William and his father. While Paul Bettany as Geoffrey Chaucer is a bit much, Mark Addy and Alan Tudyk as William's squires Roland and Wat actually make me have some interest in William's success. I'm more concerned for William's plight for their sakes than I am for William's though.

Given a better lead cast and a less Snidley Whiplash like villain, "A Knight's Tale" could have pulled off its juxtapositions nicely. Instead, it just turns out to be another story about a whiny lovelorn guy who just needs to grow up.

Rating:
Summary: Great Movie
Review: I had never heard of any of the people in this movie, but saw it on cable, and loved it. So got the DVD. It's a great mixture of 14th century environment mixed with 20th century music. It's a great story to watch from beginning to end. The extra's are really good, expecially the cut scene's.

Rating:
Summary: I thought this movie was wonderful. Oscar contender? No.
Review: But was it campy fun? Absolutely. To all the nay-sayers complaining about the historical inaccuracies, such as the soundtrack -- this isn't Braveheart! It's fiction! And so what if the rags-to-riches story has been done. There are only so many plots that can be done in a movie, and they've pretty much all been done before. And as for the ending where he manages to win despite being run through the arm, show me a movie where the hero hasn't defeated the bad guy despite facing insurmountable odds, and I'll show you a box office dud.

Now, having said that, I have to say I loved this movie. I was a little taken aback at the outfits that Jocelyn wore, but they went right along with the music. It was a fun movie. The only reason I didn't give it 5 stars is because I didn't really care for the heroine. Frankly, I'd have preferred it if William hooked up with the blacksmithess instead of Jocelyn, but oh well. But the rest of it was great. I loved the friction between Wat and Chaucer -- those were some of the best scenes in the movie.

I saw this on cable, but after seeing what another reviewer wrote about the deleted scenes, I'm going to rent the DVD.

Rating:
Summary: Campy good fun
Review: A KNIGHT'S TALE is a light-hearted, romantic comedy set in the mid-14th century and centered around the sport of jousting.

Heath Ledger plays one of three servants of a knight who has the misfortune to fall from his horse and die immediately before his scheduled appearance in a tournament. Since his servants don't eat if their man doesn't compete and win, they find themselves up against it. Ledger, as Will Thatcher, has the daring idea of donning his dead master's armor and competing under his identity. As luck would have it, he wins. Afterwards, he convinces his buddies, Roland and Wat (Mark Addy and Alan Tudyk), to invest the prize money (15 silver pieces) into the equipment needed to prepare and train for the next tournament, then the next. The ultimate goal is the World Championship of Jousting to be held in London.

As Will trains in the forest away from prying eyes, he and his two pals provide slapstick comedy reminiscent of the Three Stooges. However, Thatcher perseveres. Finally, the only problem left is to acquire knighthood, since jousting is reserved for the nobility. Our boys soon encounter a naked man walking down the road, who turns out to be the young writer Geoffrey Chaucer (Paul Bettany), fleeced of all his possessions by a gambling loss. In exchange for clothes and food, Chaucer forges the appropriate documents that give Will an impressive upper class lineage as Sir Ulrich of Liechtenstein, and afterwards serves as Ulrich's herald.

All characters in this delightful film are attractive and well-played, even that of Count Adhemar (Rufus Sewell), the treacherous (but extremely capable) fighter who is Will's greatest obstacle to the Big Prize Money. And, since every gallant knight needs a Babe to provide some silky underthing as a token to fight under, we have Shannyn Sossamon as Lady Jocelyn. Sossaman has strong-featured good looks that are sometime spoiled, in my opinion, by coiffures that might be considered bizarre in this day and age, much less the Middle Ages. And Jocelyn's costuming is occasionally tongue-in-cheek humorous. At one point, she wears a hat that brings to mind Audrey Hepburn's Holly Golightly persona in BREAKFAST AT TIFFANY'S. (My wife, whose one-time hobby was making medieval costumes, chortled at the incongruity of some of Jocelyn's outfits.) Another character that attaches to Sir Ulrich's entourage is the blacksmithess Kate (Laura Fraser). Young and very pretty, one would have expected Kate to provide a love interest for somebody, but disappointingly never does. She serves principally as a foil for the boy-will-be-boys shenanigans of her traveling companions.

One of the more quirky elements of A KNIGHT'S TALE is the contemporary classic rock soundtrack. When a disguised Will enters the arena to compete for the first time, the spectators belt out a rendition of "We Will Rock You". Later, as the World Championship contestants ride into London, the crowd sings "The Boys Are Back In Town". While seeming absurd at first, it grows on you.

I recommend this film as excellent family fare for an afternoon or evening of laughter in front of the castle's wide-screen, HD TV.

Rating:
Summary: just plain bad
Review: These are the cleanest looking peasants I've ever seen. Not at all acurate-from music to hairstyles to dancing. This was by far the dumbest movie I have ever seen. The saddest part? I paid to see this in the cinema.

Rating:
Summary: Shot itself in the foot
Review: The acting in this movie is great, however everything else is not.

This movie is not a bad movie it just leaves you with the feeling that it trips over its big feet as soon as its out of the starting gate two points immediately come to mind

The first and most annoying of these two points is the need for QUEEN to be included in this movie. Now I love Queen, Fred and Co. left a lasting impression on music in general however I find it awfully hard to be convinced that they would be providing the mood music for a medieval jousting tournament

The seound point is that the producers just HAD to ham this movie up. Now when I say "ham" I mean when you take a perfectly good movie and try to inject said movie with a sense of justice or some sort of moral. The moral in this case is the need for the young knight(played by Ledger) to "Change his stars"(by which he means getting out of his generally [bad] peasant life.)

This NEVER happened in the real 14th century and while it does provide a few uplifting moments in general such an approach leads you feeling confused...

There is one great aspect of this movie the actor Paul Bentally play the role of the first great hero of english literature Geof Chaucer. The man is perfect for this role.

Rating:
Summary: Garbage!
Review: What a waste of time, a total load of garbage. By this tale David Bowie is about 1000 years old. I would have better spent my time watching paint dry!

Rating:
Summary: Look at the Chick!
Review: Who's Heath Ledger? Shannyn Sossamon is the movie called "A Knight's Tale."

Rating:
Summary: Surprisingly enjoyable movie
Review: ok, I'm a big fan of almost everything and anything medieval. When I saw pre-views for this movie around a year or two ago, it looked so stupid. However, when i finally decided to see it i loved it! Yes the history isn't right, yes the music doesn't fit... but some reason it was one of the most enjoyable two hours i have ever spent watching a movie. Give it a chance, chances are you will enjoy it too.