perhaps one of the sloppiest. Knight's Tale tries to be a study in
anachronisms/comedy, action/adventure, and drama. A Knight's Tale throws
historical accuracy out the window, across the driveway and down the street
in an attempt to turn the Middle Ages into a hip era of manly dudes in suits
of armor, feminist damsels, and crowds of peasants who know the words to "We
Will Rock You". Admittedly, all of this could be fun in a Bill and Ted meet
The Holy Grail sort of way. The problem is that the movie expects the
audience to take the characters and their overall predicament seriously. A
Knight's Tale provokes its share of laughter, but most of the time we're
laughing at the movie not with it, and that's the difference between derision
and comedy.
Tale was obviously intended to cash in on the core attactions of Gladitor:
apply a modern-day sports mentality to an ancient game. In this case,
jousting is viewed as an ultimate extreme sport. The title character,
William Thatcher needs to masquerade as a knight when his master dies during
a tournament. He travels around the French countryside winning jousting
competitions with the aid of his mates who help him protect his true
identity. They are the ever faithful Roland; the under-appreciated blacksmith
Kate; the hot-tempered Wat; and the writer Geoffery Chaucer. Who is probably
spinning like a top in his grave for this portrayal and the billing that the
screenplay was derived from his first story of Canterbury Tales. Of course,
what knight's tale would be complete with a dastardly villian to defeat and a
beautiful woman as a prize to win. In this case, those two are Jocelyn and
Count Adhemar. It's up to William to win the love of the one and take down
the other, so that Medieval Europe can be once again safe for peasants to
enjoy weekend outings to the sporting events.
It's hard not to sneer at a movie like this, which prostitutes every aspect
of the creative process in an all-out attempt to lure viewers into the box
office. Those who were offended by Gladitor's loose re-interpretation of
history will be aghast by what A Knight's Tale does. Aside from history,
there are plenty of other details to dislike about the film, from the
blandness of the characters to the utter predictability of the storyline.
Also, director Helegeland's choice of music seems to be driven more by
marketing considerations than artistic freedom. The songtrack CD will have
more appeal as a classic rock complilation than as an accompaniment to the
film. The jousting sequence are filmed in such a way to illicit more yawns
than thrills. There are only so many ways you can shatter a lance made of
pasta-base and balsa wood. As a bad guy Count Adhemar isn't nasty enough to
be dispicable. And William and Jocelyn has no chemistry between them.
Better would be a pairing with Kate, who's stronger character could emit more
comedic beats.
A Knight's Tale also suffers from "is it ever going to end" disease. The
movie has nothing of substance to say, but it takes over two hours to say it.
Helgeland forgot in the summer movie season mantra of "less intelligence is
more desirable", that something has to fill the void left by the elimination
of smart dialogue and good plotting. The film needed to pick up tempo with
more comedy and more of the small touches (like the Nike Swoosh on the armor)
or it needed better screen writing and a protagonist we can truly root for.
Regardless of how much of the comedy was "intentional", as a Medieval romp
this film finishes miles behind the likes of Time Bandits and The Holy Grail.
As summer fare goes, it's possible to find other movies that aren't quite so
empty headed. My advice is watch it on video with a large group of
semi-intoxicated friends.
Score: 1 1/2 (out of 4)