Black Knight (2001)

A very "forced" comedy.The only saving grace is a very capable group of actors playing their roles rather well.Martin just seemed out of place but then again that was what the whole movie is about!The beautiful Marsha Thomason as Victoria the Chambermaid was great casting as was Tom Wilkinson as Sir Knolte of Marlborough, Vincent Regan as Percival, Leo's Chief Henchman and Kevin Conway as King Leo.All in all, a very stupid comedy about time-travel that's not ever explained but still the Martin "charm" comes through as always. He can be annoying at times but on the flip-side he can be on-target-funny sometimes. Regardless, I'm glad I got to see it for the very 1st time. It took me 12 years but hey, I'm catching up little by little.

The previous comments seem to expect Shakespearean quality out of this movie, perhaps because the title includes the word 'knight'. This movie is, as many others before it, a parody of films set in medieval England. Others of this kind include Robin Hood Men in Tights, Princess Bride, Monty Python and the Holy Grail, A Knight's Tale, A Kid in King Arthur's Court, and so on. So many movies have used medieval England as a basis for their humorous story lines that to comment that Black Knight's use of the period is an insult to English history is monstrously foolish. On the contrary, Black Knight is a true parody not only of real English history, but of many previously told stories about medieval England, such as A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court.The most glaring difference between those titles listed above and Black Knight is the type of comedy exhibited. The comedy in Black Knight comes mostly from its main character, played by Martin Lawrence, who this movie could be considered an exclusive vehicle for. It seems that, as in the movies of Jim Carrey, Mike Myers, Eddie Murphy, and the like, Martin Lawrence was given a script, but allowed to ad lib quite a bit. This adds his own particular style of comedy to the film. Therefore, if you don't like the comedy of Martin Lawrence, you may not like this movie. It looks like the idea was for everyone in the movie to play the part of the 'straight man' to Martin Lawrence, as very serious people dealing with a fool. But that is not to say that all of the jokes in the movie come from Martin Lawrence. For instance, Jeannette Weegar who plays King Leo's daughter has some funny parts, as does Helen Carey, who plays the queen.As for those incredibly nonsensical comments referring to a failure on the part of the NAACP to boycott this film, I have to say that the ignorance of those commentators is appalling. Not only do they exhibit a lack of understanding of what the NAACP actually does, but they clearly did not watch the whole film. Martin Lawrence plays a fool, granted, but he plays one with heart. He displays an understanding of what is right and wrong (his interaction with the thief), cleverness, courage under fire, and an openness to learn from his experiences. He later uses that knowledge in applicable circumstances and shows nobleness. His love interest, Victoria the chambermaid, played by Marsha Thomason, is a strong, fearless warrior, determined to fight the good fight, regardless of the lowness of her birth. She is smart, beautiful, and shrewd. When examined objectively, these characters would hardly be the cause of a boycott. And, contrary to what other commentators have said, Martin Lawrence and his love interest are not the only African Americans in the picture. That much can be seen from the character list. Jamal's (Martin Lawrence) African American friends and co-workers later benefit from his knowledge gained through experience, and show a willingness to change for the better.Addressing the production values, they were very good. In fact I'd say they were on par with Robin Hood Men in Tights, Princess Bride, or even Shakespeare in Love. Jamal's clothing was not as good as those of the other characters, which follows the story line that he was not from the area and was either wearing borrowed clothes or his clothes from the amusement park.Also, it must be mentioned that Vincent Regan plays a dashing villainous Percival, and Tom Wilkinson, who plays Sir Knolte of Marlborough, is very believable as Jamal's best medieval friend.All in all, this movie is not as bad as some say, but it is definitely no Shakespeare. Rent only if you want something really silly.

I went from hopeful to bored then straight to exhausted and annoyed in less than 30 minutes. The story is as unoriginal as they come. Even so, a scrap of humour could have saved this train wreck, but Martin Lawrence seemed to have shown up without reading the script, did it all flatly in one take and collected his money. The 'writing' was atrocious and non-sensical and the jokes were older than Moses. I was almost too embarrassed to write a review because it would be evidence that I had the poor judgement to watch this worthless crap in the first place. In my defense, I was taken on a date to see this (though I was mildly supportive of the movie choice at the time), and promptly dumped him afterwards. Awful!

The latest Martin Lawrence comedy "The Black Knight" is a thinly-disguised version of the classic Mark Twain novel "A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court." Sadly, "10 Things I Hate About You" director Gil Junger and his trio of clueless scenarists, Darryl Quarles of "Big Momma's House" and Peter Gaulke & Gerry Swallow of "Say It Isn't So," have miserably bungled a promising premise. Considering that these screenwriters have written such entertaining epics, you'd have thought they could salvage something from this mess. Alas, they fail. If you want to see what "The Black Knight" should have been, rent the hilarious Jean Reno French comedy "The Visitors" (1993) or the more recent American rendition "Just Visiting" (2000). Meanwhile, poor Martin Lawrence appears acutely out of place in this moronic medieval mishmash, and the laughs appear few and far between. The chief problem with "Black Knight" is Martin doesn't perform enough memorably funny routines. For the record, the only two jokes that work are Martin's '911--White man down' gag and his Rodney King impersonation. The other problem with this uninspired but harmless time-travel comedy is the sketchy, superficial characters that the talented cast struggle to flesh out. Nothing in "The Black Knight" remotely measures up to the merriment in any of his last three, giggle-inducing show-stoppers: "Blue Streak," "Big Momma's House," or "What's The Worse Thing That Can Happen." Generally, I look forward to each new Martin comedy, but even the previews for this farce augured ill for the comedian."The Black Knight" opens on a banal note as homeboy Jamal Walker ( Martin Lawrence) tweezers out an offending nose hair. What is the point of watching Jamal go through his hygienic regime, especially after the preview has strangled the spontaneity out of this lifeless gag? Anyway, Jamal be-bops off to work in his late-model ride to his job at a third-rate fantasy theme park called Medieval World Family Fun Center. What are African-Americans doing running a theme park that celebrates white supremacy? Jamal and his gruff female boss Mrs. Bo stick (Isabell Monk of "Sugar & Spice") have an adversarial relationship that is never developed beyond the usual clichés. Inexplicably, she has high hopes for Jamal over her other workers The bad news that Bostick delivers to them is that they are about to face rival competition from another medieval-oriented theme park due to open its doors soon. Jamal suggests Mrs. Bostick quit while she is ahead, take what money she has left, and head off to Miami Beach. Staunchly, she refuses to give in and sends ungrateful Jamal off to do some more ¯dirty work. While our hero is dredging debris out of a fake grungy castle moat at the entrance to the park, Jamal spots a shimmering gold medallion just beneath the surface. As he reaches for it, he looses his footing and plunges headlong into its grimy depths and gets sucked into a vortex. No sooner has Jamal hauled himself out of the drink than he finds himself face-to-face a tall drunken knight, Sir Knolte (Tom Wilkinson of "Rush Hour"). Sir Knolte has exiled himself, because he failed to help his Queen (Helen Carey) save her throne from an evil tyrant, King Leo (Kevin Conway of "Thirteen Days") and his despicable right-hand henchman Sir Percival (Vincent Conway of "Black Beauty"). Things are pretty bad when the filmmakers don't even give the Queen a name beyond her generic title! During their initial encounter, Sir Knolte keels over and lies apparently dead. Jamal revives him by spraying breath freshener down his throat, and Knolte bolts upright alive. He congratulates Jamal for saving h is life. Gee, were these screenwriters stretching?! Believing that he is still in his own time zone, Jamal leaves an indebted Knolte and shuffles off in search of the freeway only to discover a genuine castle. Initially, King Leo mistakes Jamal for a Moorish ambassador sent by the Duke of Normandy to herald his impending marriage to Leo's nymphomaniac daughter Princess Regina (newcomer Jeannette Weegar) rather than a 21st century African-American custodian. The mix-up occurs because Jamal told a pair of unsavory castle guards that he is from Normandie Street in South Central, Los Angeles. Immediately, Leo welcomes Jamal with open arms. Not long afterward, Jamal saves Leo's life from an assassination, and Leo lets him choose the maiden of his choice to bed down with. Jamal takes a shine to one of the king's foxy handmaidens, Victoria (Marsha Thomason of "Priest"), who believes Jamal has come to depose King Leo. Pardon by medieval ignorance, but were Moors that prevalent in 14th century castles? "The Black Knight" is so pathetically predictable you can guess what's going to happen long before it does. Jamal relies on football tactics to reclaim the Queen's throne. Indeed, they build the sled that coaches have players tackle. Meanwhile, wicked Percival resolves to skewer Jamal on his sword when the real Norman emissary shows up. Naturally, by the time this happens, King Leo's randy daughter has bedded down with Jamal and he winds up in the dungeon with the other revolutionaries who praise his strategy. Another flaw in the mediocre script is Jamal takes far too long to realize he's stuck in 1328 A.D., especially when he checks out the privy. Other flaws involve the use of arrows. Evidently, a villainous character can take an arrow in the chest and die, while a heroic character can survive one! Director Gil Junger and his scribes have forged an unfunny, fish-out-of-water farce that doesn't exploit Martin Lawrence's improvisatory comic genius. Alas, Lawrence cannot compete with the Looney Tunes cartoon variation on this plot where Bugs Bunny was "A Connecticut Rabbit in King Arthur's Court." Skip this nonsense!