Where to watch Black Knight
3 Stars
This is the story an amusement park employee named Jamal Walker who is magically transported back to medieval times in 14th-century England. There, Jamal meets Sir Knolte, a dissolute knight, before he stumbles into the court of the usurper King Leo. Jamal is impressed by what he thinks is the realism of the theme park; only after witnessing a gory beheading does he realize, with horror, where he really is. Jamal encounters the beautiful Victoria who is scheming to return the queen to the throne, and falls afoul of the evil Sir Percival. Joining forces with Sir Knolte and Victoria, Jamal teaches the rebels some helpful football, golfing, and boxing moves, before he dons the armor of the awesome “Black Knight”!
The Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur’s Court fable gets another cinematic retelling as Black Knight, starring comedian Martian Lawrence. The medieval-times set comedy is a polished and homogenized version of similar themed movies starring everybody from Bing Crosby to Bruce Campbell. This 2001 iteration is a curiously tame film that contains a reigned-in performance from Lawrence that teeters on lackadaisical during the second half; this is especially surprising after the energy and comedic force he brought to both Blue Streak and Big Momma’s House.
Black Knight would be one of the last solo headlining efforts from star Martin Lawrence. His follow-up films, the Bad Boys series notwithstanding, are largely forgettable. Tom Wilkinson does a particularly good job of playing straight man to Lawrence’s exasperated time-traveler. Black Knight is a likable comedy with a few big laughs and a good-natured spirit making the movie a slight but memorable entry in Martin Lawrence’s filmography.
Directed by: Gil Junger
Written by: Darryl Quarles, Peter Gaulke, Gerry Swallow
Starring: Martin Lawrence, Marsha Thomason, Tom Wilkinson