Black Knight (2001)

Fresh and Exciting

best movie i've ever seen.

A terrific literary drama and character piece that shows how the process of creating art can be seen differently by those doing it and those looking at it from the outside.

Through painfully honest and emotional moments, the movie becomes irresistibly relatable

The Black Knight (2001) 5 word summaryman accidentally travels into pastThe Black Knight, though funny at times, is more painful to watch than I originally remember. When I first saw it in theaters I was young and thought it was hilarious. After a recent viewing I had to wonder, what did I see in this? As I said it is funny at times. Some of the lines and actions are really funny. Martin Lawrence at times saves the film and at times ruins it. He knows what's funny but sometimes seems to try to hard or get to cocky and makes things that could have been funny not. One scene that I did enjoy is the scene with the Lawrence trying to get the band to play the Sly and the Family Stone song "dance to the music."Though it is sometimes funny, the key word is sometimes. More often your sitting bored than laughing. Even when it's not funny you can't watch it for a history lesson because it's ridiculous (which I don't fault it for, it's a comedy they can make stuff up if they want.) the acting is bad by almost everyone. Most of them can't pull of their lines or actions with a funny outcome. When a film is trying to be funny and its not, it gets really awkward and hard to watch, and that happened here.If you're a Martin Lawrence fan you might enjoy this film. Life, Blue Streak, Whats the Worst that Could Happen, etc, are all funnier and more entertaining, but if you like him enough this one might be alright. Younger viewers might enjoy it more as well, i know i liked it when i was 13. Other than that I would suggest finding a different film to watch if you want a good film watching experience. 5/10

This movie is essentially a piece of crap, but it's not without its charms I guess. Putting Martin Lawrence in a medieval environment and wearing that out for 90 minutes isn't that bad of a movie idea, but it could have been handled a lot better. The script is pretty straight-forward and predictable. You have Lawrence calling everyone "homie", making everybody perform some hip hop song, referencing basketball players, really the kind of stuff you see coming from miles and miles away. It's still funny at times, but it's just so obvious. Lawrence does the best he can with the material, but can't really save it and also falls victim to some very awkward, unflattering close-ups. Generally I don't mind bad camera work in a comedy, but seriously, what the hell? This movie pretty much lost me with its conclusion, which is disappointing no matter how you look at it. There were so many better ways to end this. Either way, this movie is pretty fun at times, but mostly just looks uninspired.

In Black Knight, Martin Lawrence plays an amusement park employee who is magically transported back to medieval times and helps return a queen to her rightful throne (while learning some valuable lessons along the way). Despite the script's lack of logic and originality, Lawrence is an engaging performer, with a loose-limbed amiability that makes him most enjoyable company, even if he's not necessarily a better actor than most comedians. If Lawrence ever does a movie with a decent script, he might really have something; as it is we'll have to settle right now for the cheesy yet funny sight of Lawrence teaching a medieval band to play some Sly and Family Stone.

It's interesting for me to see the effort involved in the making of Black Knight. The extraordinary effort of the production design, the subtle yet notable use of makeup, all of the action/comedy throughout the entire film and even Martin Lawrence pulling any rabbit he can find out of his hat, all of this cannot save a crummy script from itself. Black Knight is a half hour too long, with more information given and chances for comedy wasted.Jamal is a clean kid working at a Medieval amusement park. A chance encounter with a medallion in a moat ends him up in the real Medieval times, circa 1328, right in the middle of an uprising.I felt many scenes were unnecessary. The climactic action scene could have been done better. Instead of leaning on Martin's improv all the time, Black Knight could have used a wittier tone, such as the scene with the turnip thief, which was one of the film's saving graces. Or a feel-good entertaining film, and have scenes such as the dancing hall, put them throughout the movie and at least you would have something to remember the film by. But the constant exposition throughout Black Knight is a shining example of what to be careful of when making a film.