Review of First Knight (1995) by Stephen N — 04 Jun 2009

I've seen many things about King Arthur and walked away disgusted. Merlin just ruined every movie for me. I was just waiting for a story about Camelot and the Knights of the Round Table that didn't include a sorceror.

I finally found one. Not even mentioning Merlin already gives it a two-star rating. If I'm wrong for that, I apologize. Still, it is kinda hard for me to get extremely enthusiastic about a story that will no doubt (there's no getting around this element of the tale) include the affair that Guinevere and Lancelot had behind Arthur's back.

When I saw the movie unfold, I couldn't help but think in the back of my mind, "This lady's gonna cheat on this man she just said she'd love forever!" I couldn't get fully into it.

Plus, alot of mideavel times movies are difficult to watch for me. It was such a violent time, especially with the element of burning down structures with people still inside, which is shown in some fashion in almost every midievil movie.

Yet, Julia Ormond (from the Harrison Ford Sabrina) and Sean Connery kept my focus with their very good acting and, for once, giving me a King Arthur movie where I could get alot more out of it than just another magic-centered Camelot, but a king that ruled with morals and conviction.

It wasn't 'enchanting', but to me, that is a breath of fresh air.