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DVDs
A Knight's Tale
 By
Richard Moore
Well
after a lot of mixed reviews about A Knight's Tale I was
pleasantly surprised by how enjoyable the movie was.
The
storyline is solid, rather than exceptional, but the way it has
all been put together by a very talented cast and crew makes it
a terrific night's entertainment.
From
the opening scene where medieval villagers and nobles clap and stamp
to the strains of Queen's We Will Rock You, you know this
is going to be a tad different from your usual fare.
And
A Knight's Tale is different - and can best be described
as being in the same mould as the sensational Plunkett and Macleane.
It is a clever blend of action, humour, romance, rock music and
period drama, and it draws you in for a journey through 14th Century
Europe following what was the Formula One circus of the day - tournaments.
There
nobles would try to knock each other off horses, whack heavy armour
with heavy swords and generally try to be the last man standing.
Into this world comes a young peasant who passes himself off as
a knight and begins to make a mark on the jousting world - not to
mention the armour of opponents.
Heath
Ledger is terrific as Sir Ulrich von Lichtenstein and leads a truly
excellent support cast with commendable assurance.
Rufus
Sewell is the bad guy Count Adhemar and he does his best to not
only beat our main man, but also win the gorgeous Lady Jocelyn (Shannon
Sossamon) away from him.
Helping
Ledger out is the very talented crew of Roland (Mark Addy), Wat
(Alan Tudyk), and blacksmith Kate (Laura Fraser), who really make
the movie what it is with their terrific spirit and humour.
Sossamon
is the weak link in the acting department, but looks good.
However,
the scene-stealer extraordinaire is Paul Bettany, who plays Chaucer,
and he stands head and shoulders above the main (spunkier) protagonists.
It certainly is a huge step up from playing the hopeless Prince
of Orange in the TV movie Sharpe's
Waterloo. Now the action scenes are very good - although
I found the continual splintering of lances to be a bit too much
in the end - however the build-up to the big fight is excellent.
The
video and sound transfer are superb and make the most of the sumptuous
visuals offered and boost the impact of the action scenes.
All
up you'll find this a worthy evening's viewing and it certainly
has me interested in picking up a copy of Chaucer's Canterbury
Tales.
Conclusion:
Movie 85% Extras 80%
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