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This Month's Featured Equipment Reviews |
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Past DVD Hardware / Software News |
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Black Knight |
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DVD Comedy
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Written by Mel Odom
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Tuesday, 16 April 2002 |
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title:
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Black Knight |
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studio:
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20th Century Fox Home Entertainment
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| MPAA rating: |
PG-13 |
| starring: |
Martin Lawrence, Marsha Thomason, Tom Wilkinson |
| release year: |
2001 |
| film rating: |
Four Stars |
| sound/picture: |
Four Stars |
| reviewed by: |
Mel Odom |
Martin Lawrence’s new movie "Black Knight" isn’t an original idea. Mark
Twain penned the immortal story "A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur’s
Court" over a hundred years ago. Like the Twain novel, Lawrence’s new
movie transports a guy from the present day into the medieval world,
and into all the political intrigues and violence of the day. However,
where Twain’s character played pretty much straight with the story and
adventure, "Black Knight" goes straight for the jugular in a
laugh-out-loud riot of fun.
Lawrence’s character Jamal Walker is a slacker, a guy who does just
enough to get by, moving from one dollar to the next. He works at
Medieval World, a family fun spot that is about to go head-to-head with
a new medieval entertainment complex, Castle World. Jamal’s advice to
his boss: take the money she’s made and run.
Chapter 1 opens with a ringing hip-hop beat that fires up the center
and front speakers, and brings up some action from the rear speakers.
The track also plugs the subwoofer into action with a basso thumping
that gets the viewer’s heart going. Jamal is in the bathroom, primping
and posing, flossing his teeth, and breaking it down to the music. The
realism of the world comes through in the whirl of traffic Jamal
encounters on his way to work. The sudden burst of pigeons taking
flight rips through the right main speaker, making the scene come to
life.
Jamal finds an artifact in the moat around Medieval World while doing
clean-up. The sudden thumping of the subwoofer as Jamal is pulled into
the moat while reaching for the artifact builds slowly, then crescendos
as Jamal disappears under the water.
In Chapter 4, Jamal reappears in a lake, gasping for breath. The bird
calls, insects and splashing roll through the speakers, making the
viewer feel that he or she is waiting nearby on the bank. When Jamal
reaches the bank and crashes through the leaves and brush, the effect
continues.
On relatively dry land, Jamal encounters old and homeless drunk Knolte
(Tom Wilkinson), who wears steel shoes. During this encounter, Lawrence
unleashes some of the comic work that has made him a household name in
the field of comedy. The exchange between stage-trained British actor
Wilkinson and American comedy improv jokester Lawrence sets the tone
for the friendship and the madcap adventure that is just getting
underway.
After getting the old man back on his feet, Jamal escorts Knolte back
to the piece of wilderness he’s currently calling home. The horse on
the left side of the screen whinnies, and the sound issues
realistically from the left main.
Reaching a village instead of the highway he’s looking for, Jamal is
nearly ran down by a group of men on horseback in Chapter 5. The jangle
of the horses’ barding and the thudding hoofbeats slam through the main
and center speakers, echoing through the subwoofer. The hooves ring
realistically again when the riders cross the wooden bridge leading
into the towering edifice that Jamal believes to be Castle World. He,
of course, takes advantage of the situation to go in and apply for a
job.
The castle, which a dedicated DVD viewer can learn about while cruising
through the special features, is built to scale. Pain-staking effort
was taken to make the castle look true to life.
In the castle, Jamal meets Victoria, a beautiful siren who is destined
to help change Jamal’s life forever. Taking control of the situation,
Jamal resorts to passing himself off as a talent agent trying to mack
on Victoria. He ends up in a confrontation with Percival, the captain
of security for King Leo. For a moment, it looks like Jamal’s
incredible adventure is doomed to an early finish. Luckily, the mix-up
that makes everyone think he is the messenger from Normandy who
everyone has been anxious awaiting prevents Percival from killing him
outright.
Jamal’s formal introduction to King Leo in Chapter 7 is absolutely to
die for. If the viewer has somehow become confused and thinks for a
moment that he or she is simply watching a regular adventure, Jamal’s
entrance into the king’s chambers blows that out of the water.
While the king concerns himself with the Duke of Normandy’s arrival,
Jamal auditions for the job he’s sure is waiting for him. The crowd’s
laughter at the king’s turn of a joke rolls through the mains, rears
and center speakers, giving the viewer the impression that he or she is
in the center of the room and part of the crowd of onlookers.
The tour of the castle continues, and the viewer is caught up with
Jamal’s joy at being in such a place. After all, this would be a really
cool place to work. One of the funniest scenes in the movie is Jamal’s
introduction to the castle privy. According to the information in the
special features section of the DVD, Junger says Lawrence had little
real acting to do in this scene. The privy conditions and supplies
genuinely grossed out Lawrence. He hadn’t known how bad hygiene
conditions were in the Middle Ages (which puts him in company with much
of the audience).
In Chapter 8, while attending a public beheading, thinking the
execution is simply another performance, Jamal’s innocence is rudely
ripped away. The axe grinding on the whetstone rings through the main
and center speakers, loud and strong enough to bring goosebumps to
those with sensitive hearing.
When Jamal wakes in Chapter 9, he freaks. This is one of the film’s
total Martin Lawrence moments. Where the film clings to the solid
adventure story of a man out of his time, Lawrence goes big with his
improv line, throwing a fresh mix of comedy into the story.
Jamal’s comedy of errors continues as he gets to know everyone. In no
time at all, he’s mounted on a fiery horse that seems homicidal, earns
the unending enmity of Percival, learns the woman that he is attracted
to is part of the underground movement to return the deposed queen to
power, and is made to dance before the king. The dance number is
awesome, choreographed by Paula Abdul, who also took charge of the
medieval dance numbers.
The story continues, taking twists and turns, some of them predictable
and others with a new spin. Jamal’s fortunes rise and fall, providing
more and more opportunity for the comedy that makes this DVD rock. The
music score jams away, filling the surround sound system with hip-hop
beats.
In Chapter 16, Jamal receives a mysterious visitor to his bed in the
middle of the night that changes his fortunes with King Leo. The door
slams through the right main speaker, giving a physical position to the
visitor.
"Black Knight" comes packed with several extras. The commentary by
director Gil Junger provides insight into the film’s vision, and
Lawrence delivers a welcome and diverting discussion of the two
characters of Knolte and Jamal. The featurettes on the construction of
the set and the choreography of the dance number are fun and
informative.
"Black Knight" is a great DVD for Lawrence fans and/or for someone who
enjoys watching medieval adventure, who will probably want to add the
DVD to the home collection. For those not interested in collecting but
who are interested in a fun night and a popcorn movie with a touch of
the risqué, "Black Knight" is an excellent choice. The nice and totally
unexpected twist at the end perhaps indicates there’s a sequel in the
works.
| more details |
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sound format:
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English 5.1 Dolby Digital Surround; Spanish Dolby Digital Surround, French Dolby Digital Surround |
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aspect ratio(s):
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2.35:1 |
| special features: |
"Full-Length
Audio Commentary by Director Gil Junger; Scene Specific Commentary by
Martin Lawrence; Deleted Scenes with Optional Commentary; Choreography
Featurette with Paula Abdul; Behind-the-Scenes Featurettes; Outtakes;
Storyboard-to-Scene Comparisons; Theatrical Trailers; English
Closed-Captioning |
| comments: |
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| reference system |
| DVD player: |
Pioneer DV-C302D |
| receiver: |
RCA RT2280 |
| main speakers: |
RCA RT2280 |
| center speaker: |
RCA RT2280 |
| rear speakers: |
RCA RT2280 |
| subwoofer: |
RCA RT2280 |
| monitor: |
42-inch Toshiba HD Projection TV |
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