Rating: Summary: My First Night with "First Knight" was rad! Review: Wow. I mean, Wow! How can a movie without surfboards, BMX bikes, or airplanes be this good! I guess it's because it has nardley swords and Richard Gere with long hair. If you like this, you'll love "Endless Summer" and "Tombstone". Come on dude, who can forget the allusion to "Rad" during the swordfight. Awesome, yo!
Rating: Summary: Not accurate but still great Review: The story is not accurate but you can still enjoy it if you want to see a romantic medieval movie. This film is not about Arthur or Knights of the round table. It's a romantic film based on Launcelot du Lake & Guenever love. sword scenes are not good as they seem. Watch them slowy and see the trick. But it still gets 3 stars from me because of good music, costumes, Richard Gere & Sean Connery... the worst Arthur legend I've watched: "Mists of Avalon" the best: Merlin. I don't claim it to be accurate but I liked it much.
Rating: Summary: Last Knight Review: Forget Jerry Goldsmith's music punctuating every raised eyebrow. Ignore Julia Ormond's ability to play two emotions: earnestness and confused earnestness. First Knight is a crashing bore. It insults its audience with the weakest dialogue this side of Camelot. "I want you; you want me," says Lance. I couldn't tell if these two were medieval lovers stating their passion or it was day two of Woodstock. Worst of all, this isn't the King Arthur of Morte D' Arthur. It's not even the King Arthur of the musical Camelot. You'll find no Merlin, excalibur, or Holy Grail inside these city walls. The grand mythology of Arthurian legend is stripped to the barest of bones. This isn't First Knight; it's knight of the living dead with more frightening results.
Rating: Summary: A worthy addition to the Arthurian saga... Review: The Arthurian Legends are renowned as part of World Mythology. Anyone even vaguely familiar with the literary canon concerning "The Once & Future King" will be aware of the liberties Director Jerry Zucker has permitted himself in FIRST KNIGHT. So what! In CAMELOT we're shown a kind of beatific vision...a Garden of Eden...where PERFECTION is the law of the land until a jaded cynicism/sophistication (personified in Mordred and masterfully potrayed by David Hemmings of BLOW-UP fame)is allowed to mar "the shining spot". EXCALIBUR presents the mystical dimensions of Arthurian lore and explores the paradox of attempting to maintain JUSTICE on a human scale that seems forever compromised (like Greek tragedy) by reliance on DESTINY, MAGIC and MIRACULOUS INTERVENTION (for good or evil). FIRST KNIGHT shows us human beings...potentially great (for good or evil) people struggling for an ideal...not the Holy Grail; not perfection but justice in an eminently unjust world. Sean Connery's King Arthur is wise, heroic and all-too human. He has no magic sword to carry into battle; no Druid adept...no Merlin...to counsel him. His Round Table of Knights makes mistakes and his greatest knight (Malagant) has already betrayed him. Lancelot as an aldulterous mercenary is well-played in a pragmatic American style (not a "pure of heart" paragon)by Richard Gere. Julia Ormond's Guenevere is fine as the reckless, but well-meaning would-be queen torn between her love of adventure (and, Lancelot the adventurer) and Arthur the Great King whose nobility is the essence of Camelot. In FIRST KNIGHT, Peter Drucker has captured this essence in an action-packed, sometimes majestic film that explores the human dimensions of The Legend's commitment to nobility and honor regardless of cost. This the transcendent quality of the Arthurian saga. This is a solid cinematic incarnation...hopefully there will be more. And while Boorman's EXCALIBUR indeed captures the MAGIC of "the once and future king"...FIRST KNIGHT depicts well the existential HEROISM that makes the magic of Myth possible. View it for what it is, not what other films or stories are...
Rating: Summary: Jaded ex-lover of this video Review: I went to see this movie in the theatres and I loved it. When it came out on video I HAD to buy it. So what went wrong? Well, I watched it over and over and bit by bit, all the window dressing fell away and showed what was underneath..... NOTHING! This movie hasn't a brain in its pretty little head. I won't throw a fit about the fact that except for the names of maybe 4 characters this movie has absolutely nothing to do with King Arthur. I won't complain about how it focuses on the sleaziest part of the tales of Camelot. As a history buff, I'll even keep my mouth shut about the glaring historical inaccuracies. (The afore mentioned costumes, crossbows as well as the carraiges and accents) I will complain about the deep cracks in this story. 1- Lancelot. I don't like him. He's a pervert who dragged the dim Guinevere into adultery. Yes, I am a woman, and I still am not smitten by Gere's charms. And frankly, I wasn't too impressed with his sword choreography, I mean, this guy is said to be the deadliest swordarm in England but he has no cool moves save a lame disarm the enemy by making spastic gestures move. 2- Guinevere. She is dull-witted. I see why Malegant thought he could take over her kingdom, this character is not the brightest bulb on the tree. Too bad since Julia Ormonde is a good actress. She hurts Arthur deeply with her adulterous desire and then expects a few tears will set everything right again. 3- The Villains. They are cartoonishly evil. The "Hey, let's murder women and children. Why? Cuz we're bad! Why?.... Cuz we just are, that's all." The only characters I liked were Arthur and the few knights of the round table (Kay and Agravain) who have some screen time. I thought the round table thing was supposed to be equal. What's with the FIRST knight thing, doesn't that sort of defeat the purpose? Point is, this movie is good until you realize it is nothing. Rent Monty Python and the Holy Grail as stated below, at least you'll get some laughs or better, read The Acts of King Arthur and His Noble Knights by John Steinbeck to get the feel of this wonderful old legend.
Rating: Summary: Have a "thing" for Richard Gere? See this movie! Review: This is such a great chick flick! I found this movie to be visually stunning with its lovely depictions of the Old English countryside and all the gorgeous period costumes. Now the good part...From the first time Richard Gere looks into Julia Ormonds eyes with his sexy, dark eyes, (who cares what color her eyes are,) I could feel the chemistry between them. Yes there is a great fairytale like story there as well, but the sexual/romantic tension is sooooooo delicious! Remember when you were a little girl and pretended to be a princess waiting for your prince? Just see this movie okay?
Rating: Summary: Story line botched, but still a must see Review: True, when I first watched this movie I was dismayed at how far off the 'accepted' interpration it is. (Yep, Excalibur is the best). I rented First Knight on DVD, and watched in widescreen...and I really began to like some aspects of this film. Ormond is a likable and 'feisty' Guenevere. Connery makes a good and noble, if not a bit old, Arthur. Gere is cheesy, sorry...probably there to attract the ladies to this film. What I really liked were a couple of the battle scenes, especially the one when the battalion of Arthur's knights on horseback clashed with the bad guys. I also liked the grandiose city of Camelot. Lots of blue (maybe not realistic if you take into account history/nature/geography).
Rating: Summary: An Insult to the Audience Review: It would have been nice if someone who wrote the movie had actually read something Arthurian before it hit production. I don't mind if the movie varies from the original text, but only if it can justify the changes, or at least provide some ironic asides to show that they read the stuff (like the Disney Hercules). The fact that they didn't, and presented it as a story of King Arthur, is insulting to anyone who has bothered to read Le Morte D'Arthur, The Once and Future King, Idylls of the King, Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, or any other of the Arthurian stories out there. Rent Excaliber, rent Sword and the Stone, rent Camelot, rent Monty Python and the Holy Grail. These are all more faithful, intelligent and entertaining than the trite, shollow Harlequin Romance of a movie that is First Knight.
Rating: Summary: Absolutely Wonderful Review: I watched this movie for the first time the other day and have watched it every day since. I think I have always wanted Guinivere and Lancelot to get together. I loved the scene where they finally kissed. I think Richard Gere was great for the part of Lancelot, accent or not. Julia Ormond made a beautiful and perfect Guinivere, and Ben Cross did a very believable job of playing the evil Malagant. Sean Connery couldn't have been a better choice for the noble King Arthur. I thought the costumes and settings were wonderful also. An all around great film.
Rating: Summary: THE best movie ever!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Review: I watched this movie yesterday and have been lost in my fantasy world since then.This has to be one of the best movies on medievel britain.A wonderful story line,a gripping script and superb direction ,all come in one pack.A must see.
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