Image
(c) Fox |
Black
Knight Cast : Martin
Lawrence, Tom Wilkinson, Greg Cooper
Director : Gil
Junger
Written By : Darryl
J. Quarles, Peter Gaulke and Gerry Swallow
Trailer: Quicktime
(Various res) |
Martin
Lawrence stars as Jamal Walker in the comedy Black Knight where
he gets mysteriously transported to 14th century England.
It all
happens one day when while on his job as a low level employee
of the dilapidated Medieval World theme park as he falls into
its putrid moat whilst trying to retrieve a golden necklace.
He gets sucked into the water and ends up in old England in
the times of castles, knights in shinning armor, damsels in
distress, bad hygiene and terrible plumbing.
During
his adventure he falls in love, almost gets his head chopped
off, leads a revolt against the evil king, teaches the locals
some modern dance moves
including some heavy slang and makes new friends along the
way.
Can you
dig it? I thought so. As you can imagine the film revolves
around Jamal, an African American trying to cope with his
predicament of being thrust into the 14th Century as he struggles
to get back to his life in the 21st Century Los Angeles.
While
stuck in the Middle Ages, Jamal survives by using his “ghetto”
contemporary street smarts and hipness to overcome his many
problems, not the least of which are toilets that don’t
flush but instead are just smelly holes in the ground. To
add to his frustration he’s provided straw to use as
toilet
paper.
Since
Jamal loves modern conveniences and good hygiene, this does
not bode well with him.
Black
Knight is full of silly and stupid jokes that sporadically
make you laugh but are easily forgettable. Martin Lawrence
does his usual “shtick” that he’s famous for
and that many moviegoers have seen before.
Although
not original or amazing, Black Knight does make you giggle
and provides for some throwaway entertainment.
Even if
you are not the biggest Martin Lawrence fan, this film should
prove amusing at times if you are into dumb humor that’s
easily digested but not the
least memorable.
Director
Gil Junger tries to get as many laughs out of the film’s
weak script by highlighting Martin’s comedic abilities
as much as possible with limited
success.
If you
go to Black Knight without high expectations but just to laugh
a bit then you won’t be disappointed and you just might
have a fun time.
GIL BENZEEVI
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