First Knight

Stories about Legends have always piqued my interest. And one of those is the Arthurian legend. This film is a spin-off of it and it puts Lancelot as our main character, as opposed to the norm wherein Arthur carries the story on his backs. This spin-off doesn’t mention the other members of the Round Table, as opposed to King Arthur starring Clive Owen. Also, there are no mentions or traces of any magical element here and Merlin wasn’t mentioned once. Directed by Jerry Zucker who’s also responsible for Ghost (1990), Rat Race (2001) and others.

At the time, most of what they did worked, but watching it in 2024, the use of all-black armor, and appearing sort of a dark knight, as a sign of being the enemy looked cheesy and outdated. Malagant is seen wielding a sword with jagged teeth at the bottom part, to further emphasize his “final boss” status. The headquarters of the enemy was the typical big cavern cave with torches and sharp spikes sticking out the wall, it’s like on those video games wherein you invade the enemies stronghold to save the princess.

Characters

• Sean Connery as Arthur was great, his presence exudes command. And I like that his version of Arthur was that of an old retired king and bygone are the days of him being a knight, and that his fighting days were over.
• Julia Ormond who played Guinevere struck me the most because of her beauty, I’m honestly not familiar of her work. She looks the part of a queen but rides a horse like a knight, even better than the other stuntmen.
• Richard Gere was, as always, charming. But unfortunately, he was too charming for the role and took away that edgy-vibe of Lancelot. He was able to give off that random slick-charmer guy vibes, and for the entirety of the film, he really did looked the part. And because of that, it veered the audience away in seeing Lancelot the knight, as a skilled swordsman. Gere was a great choice for the romance part, but not much for the action scenes.

They went with small scale battles as opposed to other epic films that showcases major war productions and features tens and hundreds of soldiers and knights. I’m not sure if it was as intended or problem with the budget. Because it conflicts with the idea that Malagant with his handful of rebels could ever wish to conquer Camelot.

Spoiler

Arthur dying was a bit of a surprise for me. I never thought I’d see an iteration of the legend where King Arthur dies. But it was a refreshing twist. The film separates itself from the usual formula and what the audience would expect from it.