Review of First Knight (1995) by Henrik S — 17 May 2010

For what it's worth, I found First Knight to be a good movie if you take it for what it is instead of trying and forcing your own interpretation of the Arthurian legend upon it. A few minutes in the movie, I understood what the filmmakers were trying to create, a film in the spirit of classic adventure and swashbuckling movies of the 30-50ies, think Errol Flynn in medieval England. No serious contemplation about British History (or pseudo-history), no gritty and brooding tale of the dark ages but shiny knight in Armour and evil (evil !) villains. At one point, Richard Gere and Julia Ormond are riding on a horse through the pouring rain, finding shelter under a tree, that is all you need to know about this movie ! Yet, it reminded about those innocent and tenderly low-budget fairy tale movies one might catch on TV on Sundays or during Christmas time. If you are in the right mood, the movie might just hit your spot, of course if you expect another Braveheart, look elsewhere.

Richard Gere is puppy-eyed and his shy handsomeness makes for a good loner, although his transition to being a hero towards the end of the movie is not reflected in his performance and not really based within the narrative except for some vague reference to a troubled past. Sean Connery puts on the Role of Arthur like a glove and mumbles and smirks behind his mighty beard to recreate a truly "legendary" Arthur, legendary as in fairy-esque.

One nice thing about this movie are the locations and beautiful landscapes. That is, if you like to gaze upon the breathtaking British countryside (Oh Mother England !).

All in all, a romp and adventure movie with loots of cheesy schmonsens thrown in for good measure.

HX.