This movie, while not in my top 5 movies of all time, is a top contender.
Blokes playing with lances, winning the hearts of ladies. STRONG FEMALE CHARACTERS!!! Plus the greatest sidekicks known to man. Plus a bunch of random rock tracks thrown in.
That's it. That's the review.
Just kidding.
Seriously though, in this review I will explain why this movie sits as a top contender in my top 5 movies of all time.
Story/Dialogue: William Thatcher uses the armour of the knight he squired for in order to compete in tournaments. With the help of his friend Wot and Roland, he enters under the guise as Sir Ulrich Von Lichtenstein. On the way he gains both a rival and a lover. Count Adamar and Jocelyn, respectively. Can he win the World Championships and maintain his secret identity?
The story is simple and easy to follow. The characters, OH THE CHARACTERS! They're so likeable and memorable. To Wot's crazy hair and threatening of 'Fonging' to Roland's advice and dry sense of humour. Later characters like Kate and Chaucer are even moreso. A kickass blacksmith who can dance and has fire and a writer with a razor wit and a gambling problem also doubles as herald and forger for the group.
Then enter the leading lady. Jocelyn has a face that could cut glass and a tongue that could reduce you to ribbons.
She is the embodiment of, "Do no harm, but take no shit."
This woman will come to love William, but she will not stand for his tantrums.
It makes me love her so much more.
The dialogue can be flowery without being gratuitous and it's refreshing to see dialogue like that. Watching banter that makes you laugh is so very important.
Cinematography: The scenes in A Knight's Tale are well set out, with excellent framing. The one thing I would take issue with is the notable green screen near the end. Also, watching the characters fade in and out of focus during the dance scene added something a bit extra that appealed to me.
Lastly, watching the cuts/fades between the letter reading and writing and the flashback transitions are wonderful. Major props to the editor for that.
Audio: Knighthood and Rock music struck me as an odd combination the first time I watched this film. It worked, though. By George it worked!
Aside from this, the movie had an original score which made the movie more epic in a subtle sense. It added to the atmosphere of scenes like the pub where they bet on William, Adamar finding out about Ulrich's winnings while on the front lines and the lancing in general. It's a lot of brass and lutes that make it feel like a piece of history rather than a renaissance fair.
Overall: This movie is fun. I don't mean fun in the sense of Bad Boys fun where there's a crapload of explosions and breasts out everywhere.
This fun is a tasteful and classy night on the town (Minus Paul Bettany's bare arse,) and leaves you feeling emotionally satisfied at the end.
It's action without the unnecessary explosions and it's a good laugh.
Everyone performs excellently and you find yourself getting attached to all the characters.
*Wistful sigh* they just don't make 'em like they used to.
5 stars.
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