First Knight

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First Knight ★½ 1995 (PG-13)

King Arthur/Camelot legend comes to life again, but isn't worth the time it takes to watch. Wandering swordsman Lancelot (Gere) saves beautiful Guinevere (Ormond), soon to be Arthur's (Connery) queen, from evil renegade knight Malagant. They yearn, they gaze, they kiss—you gag. Written like a Harlequin romance, the dialogue (especially when uttered by Gere) is unintentionally funny, and the plot will cause much eyerolling. Connery's regal (he knows his costume epics) and Ormond's lovely, but Gere is badly miscast. He offers a contemporary take on the flawed hero complete with American accent, an amazing feat in the 13th century. Bigscale battles, betrayals, passion, even Disneylandlike Camelot sets—the pieces for a tremendous epic are all here, it just doesn't work. 134m/C VHS, DVD . Sean Connery, Richard Gere, Julia Ormond, Ben Cross, John Gielgud, Liam Cunningham, Christopher Villiers, Valentine Pelka; D: Jerry Zucker; W: William Nicholson; C: Adam Greenberg; M: Jerry Goldsmith.

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First Knight

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