Black Knight (2001)
DVD: 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment
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
© 2002 
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LadyJanet@RenaissanceMagazine.com