First Knight (1995)

Lancelot lives by the sword. In fact, they're next door neighbours, so teaming up to fight for money comes pretty naturally. Lady Guinevere, on her way to marry King Arthur is ambushed by the evil Sir Malagant. Fortunately Lancelot is lurking nearby and he rescues his future queen. They fall in love, but Guinevere still fancies the idea of wearing a crown, so she honours her promise to Arthur. Can Lady Guinevere remain faithful, or will this Pretty Woman become a lady of the knight?

Director: Jerry Zucker

Writers: Lorne Cameron (story), David Hoselton (story)

Here we have another King Arthur story.  There are a ton of these, and most are very similar.  First Knight is not my favorite Camelot story, but it's a pretty good one.  You all know the story, Lancelot falls in love with Guinevere, Guinevere falls in love with Lancelot, Arthur falls in love with Guinevere, Arthur falls in love with Lancelot....

The acting here is very good.  For some reason I really enjoy Richard Gere as Lancelot here.  I think he does a very good job.  Sean Connery does an excellent job in anything he is in, but he makes a perfect Arthur.  The rest of the cast is very good

The action here is good, but fairly sparse.  This really is more of a love story than an action piece, but I wish there were a bit more action in it.  There is very little blood here and of course no nudity.  I really can't say there was any good eye-candy to be had at all.  But even though this film is lacking in the adolescent boy categories, I dug the story for what it was.  The pace was pretty well done and I enjoyed the characters.

Check this one out if you haven't seen it, just don't expect a violent action flick.  This one is a romance with a bit of action.

Verdict: Recommended

The Cast

Sean Connery ... King Arthur

Richard Gere ... Lancelot

Julia Ormond ... Guinevere

Ben Cross ... Prince Malagant

Christopher Villiers ... Sir Kay

Colin McCormack ... Sir Mador

John Gielgud ... Oswald

Liam Cunningham ... Agravaine

Paul Kynman ... Mark

Ralph Ineson ... Ralf

Valentine Pelka ... Sir Patrise

Stuart Bunce ... Peter, King's Stableman

Camelot (TV Series 2011)

In the wake of King Uther’s sudden death, chaos threatens to engulf Britain. When the sorcerer Merlin has visions of a dark future, he installs the young and impetuous Arthur, Uther’s unknown son and heir, who has been raised from birth as a commoner. But Arthur’s cold and ambitious half sister Morgan will fight him to the bitter end, summoning unnatural forces to claim the crown in this epic battle for control. These are dark times indeed for the new king, with Guinevere being the only shining light in Arthur’s harsh world. Faced with profound moral decisions, and the challenge of uniting a kingdom broken by war and steeped in deception, Arthur will be tested beyond imagination. Forget everything you think you know…this is the story of Camelot that has never been told before. (Source: Starz)  

Creators: Michael Hirst, Chris Chibnall

Camelot was a very recent series on Starz, a more adult version of the classic tale.  Unfortunately, it only lasted one season.  I'm really not sure the main reason for the cancellation, but I can only assume it was because of low ratings. 

Personally, while I didn't love the series, I thought it was pretty good.  I enjoyed the more adult nature of the series.  King Arthur stuff tends to usually be toned down quite a bit.  This series was a typical pay-cable series.  Lots of nudity, violence, sex and blood.  If you enjoy shows like Game of Thrones, or Spartacus, you should enjoy this show as well.

The reason I didn't love the show as much as the previously mentioned series is because the "romantic" portions of the show really seemed to drag this series down.  The interaction between Arthur and Guinevere were not well done, and they seemed to have little chemistry.  I'm not against romance in my films in any way, but this seemed to have too much of a CW feel to it.

The acting is fantastic from an exemplary cast.  Save maybe Jamie Campbell Bower who just doesn't seem like a good Arthur to me.  In all honesty I prefer Merlin's Bradley James to him.  The action is good when there is some and the story moves along ok.  Joseph Fiennes is definitely the star of this show, I just wish this guy could get a gig that sticks.

All in all, this is a great King Arthur rendition and I wish there could have been more seasons for the show to get it's legs.  Check it out if you enjoy the pay-cable shows or have a pension for King Arthur stuff.

Verdict: Recommended

The Cast

Joseph Fiennes ... Merlin

Jamie Campbell Bower ... King Arthur

 Tamsin Egerton ... Guinevere

Eva Green ... Morgan

Claire Forlani ... Queen Igraine

Peter Mooney ... Kay

Clive Standen ... Gawain

Philip Winchester ... Leontes

Chipo Chung ... Vivian

James Purefoy ... King Lot

Sinéad Cusack ... Sybil

Lara Jean Chorostecki ... Bridget

DragonHeart (1996)

The last dragon and a disillusioned dragonslaying knight must cooperate to stop an evil king who was given partial immortality.

Director: Rob Cohen

Writers: Patrick Read Johnson (story), Charles Edward Pogue (story)

I was never a huge fan of Dragonheart.  I always considered it a little childish for my tastes.  After rewatching it for this blog, I've determined that my feelings have not changed much.  I'm ok with family-friendly fantasy, even stuff for kids, but this film doesn't have much in the way of my kind of entertainment.

If the film perhaps had a little more humor, or action or even a little eye-candy I'd be ok with it.  Dragonheart came on the heels of the original Jurassic Park, and mainly functions as a new showcase for the technology used for that film.  I'll agree the film looks great and should be seen as the beginning of realistic creatures and dragons in fantasy films.  But, it just isn't enough to save this film

The acting is good.  Once again you'll recognize alot of the faces (and voices) in this film.  I have no complaints there.  The story isn't all that great, and the action has alot to be desired.  There's no blood, or skin in this film, not even any scantily clad goodness.

Overall, I'd say it would be ok to show this to your kid and let him enjoy it, but I don't think you'll get much out of it.  The film deserves a place in history, but I doubt I'll ever watch it agin.

Verdict: Recommended for your kids, not for you.

Cast

Dennis Quaid ... Bowen

David Thewlis ... King Einon

Dina Meyer ... Kara

Pete Postlethwaite ... Gilbert of Glockenspur

Brian Thompson ... Brok

Jason Isaacs ... Lord Felton

Julie Christie ... Queen Aislinn

Wolf Christian ... Hewe

Sean Connery ... Draco (voice)