From the opening scene, which echoes with a thumpingrendition of "We Will Rock You," "A Knight's Tale" promisesto be a bit different. While the movie provides a lot of frolicking fun and a bitof entertainment in the jousting tournaments in medieval England, the biggestplus is the lead character, William Thatcher, played by Heath Ledger.
Passing himself off as Ulrich von Leichtenstein of Gelderland, thisheartthrob fills the screen even though he spends a lot of time in a suit ofarmor.
"Knight" has all the elements one would expect of amedieval tale: a love interest, some jousting action and your stereotypical badguy, the evil Count Adhemar.
Competing for the love of the noblewomanJocelyn, our poor hero finds himself ill-prepared to take on the more experiencedvillain. Aided by his vagabond, comical sidekicks and a beautiful blacksmith,Thatcher tries to prove that nobility is more heart than birthright.
Asthe movie starts to take on the feel of a typical knight in shining armor tale,the viewer gets thrown off a bit with more rock lyrics (thank you, David Bowie)and some contemporary dialogue. It is hard to resist Thatcher, for he is pure ofheart and such a contrast to the scheming Count. Loyalty, family, friendship andcommitment make this film likable, and before long you can't help but root forthe hero, even though he seems a bit corny at times.
While there is nosurprise when Thatcher faces off with Count Adhemar in the final joustingcompetition, the scene jolts a bit as it opens with "We Are theChampions." This fresh twist on an old tale makes "A Knight'sTale" a real crowd-pleaser. It is a picture with heart, some big chuckles,and clever lines which deliver a punch from horseback.
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