Black Knight (2001) Gil Junger   Another take on A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Couurt, the story of Black Knight concerns Jamal Walker (Martin Lawrence), a resident of south central Los Angeles and a lazy employee at a failing medieval theme park. One day, he is mysteriously whisked away to 14th-century England, where he becomes an unwilling participant in replacing the resident king with the deposed queen. Drawing on his 21st-century "wisdom" in football, professional wrestling, and rap music, Jamal leads the revolt against the king and predictably, Jamal's adventures replace his opportunism with a sense of humor and chivalry. Of course it is all meant in fun, but this film sends a dangerous message to viewers: that the quaintness of the past is of less value than the slickness of the present. Not only that, but tasteless, even offensive jokes are in abundance (as when Jamal invokes the name of Rodney King as he tries to inspire a peasant uprising), and what a surprise that when he returns to the present day at the end of the film, Jamal meets a woman who looks exactly like his love interest in the past! All of this would be less annoying if Black Knight actually succeeded in being entertaining and funny. Alas, there was nary a moment in this film where I laughed. In all fairness, Martain Lawrence is a likable protagonist, the supporting cast features some excellent actors (particularly British actor Tom Wilkinson), and the production is well-photographed and boasts of excellent art direction and costumes. But other than the final scene which is mildly amusing, not a single gag works. Actually, the supplemental material on the DVD is more interesting than the film. The added material includes a commentary track, deleted scenes, and behind-the-scenes features, as well as a brief but informtive look at the design of th film, featuring production designer Leslie Dilley, who sheds light on the creation of faux casles and villages (which ought to be required viewing for RenFaire desingers). Otherwise, there is not a great deal to recommend in this release.   —Paul Andrew MacLean

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