I love any movie that gets my adrenalin pumping. Your mouth gets dry and you start to sweat. You actually WANT the good guys to win and you feel the need to yell out at the scream “Watch Out!” or “YEAH!” Then, you walk out of the theater feeling great, like you’ve just had a major workout.
It’s very rare to find a movie like that. It’s even more rare to find a comedy like that.
Martin Lawrence plays Jamal Walker, a man with a menial job in a medieval theme park. His boss has high hopes for him, but he doesn’t seem to care; and with the opening of a new park called Castle World, Jamal just thinks of where he can earn the highest dollar.
From the beginning, I was giggling. Laughter is infectious and I find that no matter how low and funny the toilet humor, it’s even funnier when sitting in a crowded theater full of tittering people. Lawrence is a great comedian and he plays his part to its fullest, without taking it to far over the top. His range of facial expressions just in the first 3 minutes of the movie alone is truly awe-inspiring.
This romp is not all toilet humor however. Pure misunderstanding and 21st century slang provide numerous hysterical moments. I swear, there is nothing funnier than a group of peasants wrestling or playing American football. Lawrence delivers reactions so satisfying and extreme, that we look forward to what he'll do next, whether it is his first medieval bathroom, attending his first public execution, riding his first horse (which is flat-out slapstick). His medieval rendition of “Dance to the Music” is amazingly hysterical.
While this is a comedy, Black Knight also has some poignant moments. The film’s creators have found time to teach some valuable lessons about life and love, and dressed it up as a comedy. Surprisingly, it works. The real moment of truth comes, when Jamal realizes that medieval life is not funny, especially when people are killed for stealing vegetables. From this moment on, while there are still some classic comedy moments, we get that whole adrenalin pumping, yelling at the screen feeling I love. Lawrence brings across the serious side of the movie so convincingly, you can almost forget that Black Knight is meant to be a comedy.
With incredible sets and costuming, combined with the incredible acting talent of not only Martin Lawrence but also Tom Wilkinson, Kevin Conway, Jeannette Weegar, Marsha Thomason; Black Knight is a movie that the whole family will enjoy.
