Black Knight film review

certificate_PG

BLACK KNIGHT

Mark Twain's A Connecticut Yankee In King Arthur's Court is reworked for the umpteenth time, with a distinctive hip hop twist, in the latest comedy vehicle for comedian-turned-actor Martin Lawrence.

Sadly, like the star's other recent humorous escapade What's The Worst That Could Happen, Black Knight has little to recommend it beyond the lead man's incessant mugging and ad-libbing.

Jamal Wallace (Lawrence) is a wise-cracking employee at Medieval World, a financially ailing theme park which transports visitors back to an era of jousting and maidens in distress. Whilst cleaning the castle moat, Jamal loses his footing, tumbles into the filthy water, and finds himself magically transported back in time to 14th century England. Lost and alone, our plucky hero reinvents himself as a courier from Normandy called Jamal Skywalker, and ingratiates himself to King Leo (Conway), who rules the kingdom with an iron fist and a sadistic right-hand man, Percival (Vincent Regan).

In his guise as the court jester, Jamal soon has the minstrels playing Sly And The Family Stone, and gasping with amazement at his incredible scientific know-how. Beautiful chambermaid Victoria (Marsha Thomason) soon catches Jamal's eye, but she just happens to be the object of Percival's affections too, as well as the leader of an underground movement to usurp King Leo and replace him with the rightful heir to the throne.

Joining forces with disgraced knight Sir Knolte (Tom Wilkinson), Jamal vows to help Victoria stage her coup, but first he must overcome Percival and the king's guards.

Black Knight seems to have been mugged of laughs before it ever reached the big screen, contriving a standard fish-out-of-water scenario in which Lawrence should flourish.

However, his usual comedy schtick fails to make any impact, and the clash of the 14th and 20th centuries doesn't provide as many visual gags as you'd expect. Wilkinson is wasted as the nobleman keen to reclaim his good name and Regan is a poor excuse for a villain - more like a snivelling young upstart yet to learn his place in society.

More encouraging though is relative newcomer Thomason. She may not have picked the most auspicious project to make her Hollywood debut, but she has a tangible screen presence - more so, in fact, than her sparring partner Lawrence.