Black Knight

Paul Greenwood reviews

Black Knight

• Cert:
• Running time: 95 minutes
• Year: 2001
• Released: 23rd August 2002
• Widescreen Ratio: 2.35:1
• Rating: 2/10

Director:

Gil Junger

(10 Things I Hate About You, Black Knight)

Cast:

Jamal Walker: Martin Lawrence
Victoria: Marsha Thomason
Knolte: Tom Wilkinson
Percival: Vincent Regan
Steve: Daryl Mitchell
Phillip: Michael Countryman
King Leo: Kevin Conway
Princess Regina: Jeannette Weegar
The Queen: Helen Carey
Ernie: Michael Burgess
Mrs. Bostick: Isabell Monk

You know a film is going to be a special kind of badwhen, for the openingscene, you’re treated to around three minutes of Martin Lawrence pullingidiotic faces while brushing his teeth and plucking his nose hair. It’s oneof the most woefully unfunny and pointless sequences ever committed tocelluloid. That the film then continues for 90 more minutes withoutactually improving on it should tell you everything you need to know aboutBlack Knight.

Lawrence plays Jamal, a worker in a medieval themepark which is underthreat from a newer, bigger, better theme park called Castle World. Whilecleaning out the moat he spots a gold medallion. Attempting to retrieve it,and by virtue of the lamest and least explained plot device since the endof the Planet of the Apes remake, Jamal is transported to 14th centuryEngland. Such a premise is not without promise (Mark Twain obviouslythought so) and the scene could have been set for a nice round offish-out-of-water hijinks, along the lines of Back to the Future III orAustin Powers.Unfortunately, Lawrence has only a fraction of the talent orcharm of Michael J. Fox or Mike Myers and this, coupled with a diabolicalscript, results in Black Knight becoming a comedy wasteland of brainmelting proportions.

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Back to the plot: after meeting and saving the life of the drunken Knolte(who you just know is going to turn out to be a disgraced former knight)Jamal, still not realising he’s back in time, finds himself at the castleof King Leo. Things take a turn for the ludicrous when he’s mistaken for aFrench envoy and before long is involved with a bunch of rebels trying tooverthrow Leo and return the throne to the rightful Queen.

Did I say plot?Sorry, I meant never ending series of poo jokes and stupid faces. Alsoacting as executive producer, Lawrence clearly had free reign to indulge inas much mugging and schtik as he felt like. His idea of funny seems to bespouting incomprehensible L.A. street talk and saying ass and shit a lot.At least Lawrence’s inspiration Eddie Murphy, even at his most irritating,was still funny.

Although Lawrence is by far Black Knight’s biggest problem, he is certainlynot its only one. The supporting players range from the embarrassed(Wilkinson) to the embarrassing (just about everyone else), but given thematerial they have to work with, it’s not that surprising. The sets arecramped and tatty, the photography lacklustre and composer Randy Edelmanrips off John Williams’Jurassic Park.score with abandon. With a moreappealing leading man, a better script, a stronger director and a moretalented cast, its could have approached mediocre watchability. As it is,in what’s been quite a year for cinematic stinkers, Black Knight is upthere with the worst of them.

Review copyright © Paul Greenwood, 2002.E-mail Paul Greenwood

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