First Knight

"You have to not care whether you live or die"

There were three medieval/British Isle films released in 1995 -- "Braveheart," "Rob Roy" and "First Knight." Mel Gibson's "Braveheart" is certainly the most epic of the three at three hours, but I found it overrated; which isn't to say I don't like it, I just don't feel that it's as great as the hype would suggest (only about half of it is worthwhile). I liked "Rob Roy" better than "Braveheart;" it's very adult-oriented, violent, gritty and grim, however.

"First Knight" is a believable take on the King Arthur/Camelot legend starring Sean Connery as Arthur, Richard Gere as Lancelot and Julia Ormond as Guinevere. They get tangled up in a bit of a love triangle. Ben Cross plays the v...

OK. First things first; this deviates substantially from any of the other depictions of Arthurian legend, so if you're looking for anything akin to the films (or books) you've come across before, then I'd stop now. If you're looking for a light and fluffy costume romance, then you might salvage something from it yet, though. Julia Ormond (Guinevere) is travelling to meet Sean Connery (King Arthur) with a view to marrying him and thus saving her beleaguered land of Leonesse from the frequent invasions of the evil "Malagant" (Ben Cross). On her way, though, she is attacked and only saved by the cunning wit and bravery of travelling swordsman Lancelot (Richard Gere). She is delivered safely to her beau, only to encounter Lancelot again as he w...

I really like this movie, but it's a terrible movie.

This film is, for me, particularly nostalgic because I really enjoyed watching it in my childhood and youth. It was one of those films that marked my imagination about the Middle Ages, and how it could have been. Obviously, the way I see it has changed with maturity, and studies have allowed me to perceive the enormous anachronisms committed by this film, on several levels. However, like almost everything that brings us good childhood memories, it is a film that continues to be very dear to me.

The screenplay does not deserve much consideration, being essentially a poor melodrama of questionable taste, created around the Arthurian legends. The legend, as we know, has a strong Fr...

Yeah, this is pretty bad.

I saw one reviewer call the armor Arthur's side wears "something that comes out of Star Trek" and another call the bad guy's armor "leather ala Road Warrior," and both are fairly accurate descriptions. Nothing really look period, it all looks a lot more sci-fi then medieval.

And the casting too seems wrong, Gere was too old, and the age difference between Connery and Ormond was a little too vast be really believable in the context of the legends it's based on. Not to mention that Gere is a little too American.

And then, moving on, there is a gauntlet that came straight out of American Ninja Warrior... or more apt for the time, American Gladiators, either way it did a great job of sucking even more believab...