First Knight is yet another retelling of the legend of King Arthur, the classic tale of betrayal, love and conflict. It is a pretty movie, and if you are unfamiliar with the story of the King and his Knights of the Round Table, you may enjoy it. Just don’t invite your high school English teacher to go with you, unless you wish for revenge for some past grading injustice. She will be pained.

In this version, Lancelot (Richard Gere) is the central character. The benevolent King (Sean Connery) is little more than a supporting actor, a means for Lancelot and Guinevere (Julia Ormond) to develop a romance.

But perhaps develop is not the correct word, as it implies some depth of storyline. As far as I could tell, this is the extent of the plot:Guinevere has met Arthur at some point prior to the opening of the film. She decides to marry him when it becomes apparent she needs help defending her land from the evil Prince Malagant. On the way to marry Arthur, she is ambushed and almost captured. Thankfully, Lancelot is roaming through the forest and manages to save her. And guess what? They fall in lust!

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Unfortunately, the script is awkward and stilted, which makes uninteresting viewing. Guinevere does get to say a few funny lines, and Ormond does bring a certain sauciness to the character of the Queen. But nothing is contextualized it seems Guinevere is Queen for about

see KNIGHT, page 6