Main Cast:
Heath Ledger is William
Mark Addy is Roland
Rufus Sewell is Count Adhemar
Shannyn Sossamon is Jocelyn
Alan Tudyk is Wat
Paul Bettany is Geoff Chaucer
Director: Brian Helgeland
Plot Summary:
When an elderly nobleman dies within the middle of a jousting tournament William (Heath Ledger) decides to require his place so as to win the prize. Only men of nobility are allowed enter the tournament but William and his humble friends Roland (Mark Addy) and Wat (Alan Tudyk) are desperate. Covered in armour the gang don't notice the switch and haply William manages to win the tournament. Inspired by his victory he persuades his friends to assist him enter another tournament. First he has got to find out how to joust properly then he has got to give himself a replacement noble identity in order that he are going to be allowed compete. With the assistance of his friends William becomes Ulrich von Lichtenstein of Gelderland.
Review:
This action/romance movie could also be set in an age of kings, castles and heroic knights but this is often considerably a contemporary movie. The dialogue, the humour, the music are all modern and after the primary jiffy if you're still unsure the gang watching the jousting tournament do a “Mexican Wave”! The blend of old and new somehow works rather well and adds a comic book element that’s hard to not enjoy. also because the comic element there are spectacular action scenes.
William and his “mates” appear as if lads having fun especially once they are within the pub singing “football style” chants like "He’s quick. He’s funny. He makes me a lot of money. Gelderland! Gelderland!" This image is protected by some great rock anthems like Queen’s we'll Rock You and Thin Lizzy’s The Boys Are Back in Town. All the characters are made more likeable by the very fact that none of them are portrayed as flawless.
The story itself is straightforward enough: peasant boy wants to be a heroic knight, beat the baddie and obtain the girl. It never gets too serious and is sort of predictable but there are some nicely timed flashbacks that help keep the story alive.
Heath Ledger is sweet during this hero role. Mark Addy, Alan Tudyk and Paul Bettany are all great at adding the comic element. Shannyn Sossamon plays the gorgeous Jocelyn and she or he is certainly a part of the fashionable element within the movie as she doesn’t appear as if she belongs within the 14th century! Rufus Sewell is additionally good as William's rival Count Adhemar.
Pic: Courtesy wikipedia.org