BEFORE: I've been avoiding this movie for a few years, since my aunt tried to play it for the family one Thanksgiving, when the rest of us just wanted to slip into our turkey comas...but I really shouldn't hold that against the movie, I should just watch it and judge it on its own merits.
THE PLOT: After his master dies, a peasant squire, fueled by his desire for food and glory, creates a new identity for himself as a knight.
AFTER: The story of William Thatcher (Heath Ledger), a commoner who creates a false identity as a noble, so he can train for and enter jousting competitions.
Problem #1 - there's much, much more to being a knight than just jousting. There's this bit about going to war, and crusading and such. William wants all the perks without doing the legwork, and are we really supposed to respect him for that?
Problem #2 - as exciting as a single joust might be, seeing it happen over and over again over the course of a movie has a high reduncancy factor - most sports related movies understand this, and compensate by changing things up. Seeing a lance shatter for the 200th time causes it to lose it's thrill.
Problem #3 - the use of contemporary music like Queen's "We Will Rock You" and Thin Lizzy's "The Boys Are Back in Town". I know WHY this was done, to make the story acceptable for the MTV generation, but that still doesn't excuse it.
Also starring Mark Addy, Alan Tudyk (Steve the Pirate from "Dodgeball"), Paul Bettany.
RATING: 6 out of 10 tunics
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