Tech News
Reviewed by Chris McEneany
Old fashioned entertainment with boo-hiss villainy, rousing set-pieces, a large scale, and the simple, honest-to-goodness ode to chivalry, self-belief and, of course, honour that suffuses the entire filmic genre as well as its literary sources. First Knight, however, is still hugely superficial, contrived and barely even begins to scratch the wonderful treasure-trove of material that the Arthurian Romances offers up for cinematic storytelling. Oh, and lets not forget, it is badly miscast, badly acted and ineptly written as well. You dont need to have Merlin and the usual cast to make a good King Arthur story they are missed, mind you but just shovelling big names into what is little more than a soap opera mishmash of un-intriguing odds and ends is never going to work.
Sonys disc is loaded with EPK pap and a truly hilarious promo for John Clements and his wannabe Knights-in-Training. Only the much more critical and better thought-out commentary from the historian about the films authenticity bears any repeatability. AV-wise, there is not much to say, really. The film shows its age and does not look or sound especially good. It remains passable but, like the armour in the film, is still in need of a spit and shine.
One for the fans only. And I dont mean fans of the legend of King Arthur who should probably avoid this like the pox.
Read the full review...
Old fashioned entertainment with boo-hiss villainy, rousing set-pieces, a large scale, and the simple, honest-to-goodness ode to chivalry, self-belief and, of course, honour that suffuses the entire filmic genre as well as its literary sources. First Knight, however, is still hugely superficial, contrived and barely even begins to scratch the wonderful treasure-trove of material that the Arthurian Romances offers up for cinematic storytelling. Oh, and lets not forget, it is badly miscast, badly acted and ineptly written as well. You dont need to have Merlin and the usual cast to make a good King Arthur story they are missed, mind you but just shovelling big names into what is little more than a soap opera mishmash of un-intriguing odds and ends is never going to work.
Sonys disc is loaded with EPK pap and a truly hilarious promo for John Clements and his wannabe Knights-in-Training. Only the much more critical and better thought-out commentary from the historian about the films authenticity bears any repeatability. AV-wise, there is not much to say, really. The film shows its age and does not look or sound especially good. It remains passable but, like the armour in the film, is still in need of a spit and shine.
One for the fans only. And I dont mean fans of the legend of King Arthur who should probably avoid this like the pox.
Read the full review...