The Worst Film Ever

Pretty Good

Don't listen to the negative reviews

When a movie has you begging for it to end not even half way through it's pure crap. We've all seen this movie and this characters millions of times, nothing new in it. Don't waste your time.

The Black Knight (2001): Dir: Gil Junger / Cast: Martin Lawrence, Tom Wilkinson, Marsha Thomason, Daryl Mitchell, Kevin Conway: There is no reason to see this film unless one finds the sight of someone swallowing a mouthful of horse manure to be funny. It is an utterly useless comedy with a racial title. It stars Martin Lawrence as a theme park employee who sees a mysterious gold object in the water, which sucks him into a world where knights prowled the grounds and castles towered the horizons. He sees it as an act until he witnesses a beheading. After fainting he awakens in a castle ruled by a tyrant King for which he ends up entertaining using modern music. Boring comedy trudging in formula waste and predictable gutters. Directed by Gil Junger who made the much better, but not by much Ten Things I Hate About You, although viewers may come up with more than ten reasons to hate this film. The production is decent enough but the screenplay is a formula miss. Lawrence is reciting his regular comic routine with predictable results. We know that he will make a difference in the lives of the civilians using his modern touch and we don't care. Tom Wilkinson is a sorry sight as the King. There is the stereotypical slave girl whom Lawrence sleeps with. He also beds the King's daughter for good measure. This film should be a black mark on his career. Score: 2 / 10

Jamal Walker (Martin Lawrence) works in a medieval theme park until one day he's magically transported back to the Middle Ages. Bluffing his way into the royal court as an ambassador from Normandy, he gets involved with a peasant revolt.I don't mind Martin Lawrence as a rule, Bad Boys is berserker action fun, Big Momma's House has its moments and Blue Streak I confess to laughing at. But this is scraping the barrel, an unfunny spin on the time travel theme that sees Lawrence attempt to get laughs by bringing Ghetto speak to days of yore. That he doesn't succeed isn't down to him, he's full of his usual energy and gurning antics as always, it's kind of endearing in its simpleness, but the script (Darryl J. Quarles/Peter Gaulke/Gerry Swallow) is lazy and the direction from Gil Junger lifeless. Those actors working around Lawrence barely register as he blunders his way through scene after scene like a tornado in a greenhouse. Where you have to ask just what was Tom Wilkinson thinking of when he signed on for this turgid mess? I mean, he was Oscar nominated for In The Bedroom this same year. Now that's far more funnier than Black Knight all by itself.Moronic, in fact it's beyond moronic, and those who support such a movie should be rounded up, put in the stocks and pelted with rotting fruit and vegetables. 2/10

The previous comments seem to expect Shakespearean quality out of this movie, perhaps because the title includes the word 'knight'. This movie is, as many others before it, a parody of films set in medieval England. Others of this kind include Robin Hood Men in Tights, Princess Bride, Monty Python and the Holy Grail, A Knight's Tale, A Kid in King Arthur's Court, and so on. So many movies have used medieval England as a basis for their humorous story lines that to comment that Black Knight's use of the period is an insult to English history is monstrously foolish. On the contrary, Black Knight is a true parody not only of real English history, but of many previously told stories about medieval England, such as A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court.The most glaring difference between those titles listed above and Black Knight is the type of comedy exhibited. The comedy in Black Knight comes mostly from its main character, played by Martin Lawrence, who this movie could be considered an exclusive vehicle for. It seems that, as in the movies of Jim Carrey, Mike Myers, Eddie Murphy, and the like, Martin Lawrence was given a script, but allowed to ad lib quite a bit. This adds his own particular style of comedy to the film. Therefore, if you don't like the comedy of Martin Lawrence, you may not like this movie. It looks like the idea was for everyone in the movie to play the part of the 'straight man' to Martin Lawrence, as very serious people dealing with a fool. But that is not to say that all of the jokes in the movie come from Martin Lawrence. For instance, Jeannette Weegar who plays King Leo's daughter has some funny parts, as does Helen Carey, who plays the queen.As for those incredibly nonsensical comments referring to a failure on the part of the NAACP to boycott this film, I have to say that the ignorance of those commentators is appalling. Not only do they exhibit a lack of understanding of what the NAACP actually does, but they clearly did not watch the whole film. Martin Lawrence plays a fool, granted, but he plays one with heart. He displays an understanding of what is right and wrong (his interaction with the thief), cleverness, courage under fire, and an openness to learn from his experiences. He later uses that knowledge in applicable circumstances and shows nobleness. His love interest, Victoria the chambermaid, played by Marsha Thomason, is a strong, fearless warrior, determined to fight the good fight, regardless of the lowness of her birth. She is smart, beautiful, and shrewd. When examined objectively, these characters would hardly be the cause of a boycott. And, contrary to what other commentators have said, Martin Lawrence and his love interest are not the only African Americans in the picture. That much can be seen from the character list. Jamal's (Martin Lawrence) African American friends and co-workers later benefit from his knowledge gained through experience, and show a willingness to change for the better.Addressing the production values, they were very good. In fact I'd say they were on par with Robin Hood Men in Tights, Princess Bride, or even Shakespeare in Love. Jamal's clothing was not as good as those of the other characters, which follows the story line that he was not from the area and was either wearing borrowed clothes or his clothes from the amusement park.Also, it must be mentioned that Vincent Regan plays a dashing villainous Percival, and Tom Wilkinson, who plays Sir Knolte of Marlborough, is very believable as Jamal's best medieval friend.All in all, this movie is not as bad as some say, but it is definitely no Shakespeare. Rent only if you want something really silly.

The latest Martin Lawrence comedy "The Black Knight" is a thinly-disguised version of the classic Mark Twain novel "A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court." Sadly, "10 Things I Hate About You" director Gil Junger and his trio of clueless scenarists, Darryl Quarles of "Big Momma's House" and Peter Gaulke & Gerry Swallow of "Say It Isn't So," have miserably bungled a promising premise. Considering that these screenwriters have written such entertaining epics, you'd have thought they could salvage something from this mess. Alas, they fail. If you want to see what "The Black Knight" should have been, rent the hilarious Jean Reno French comedy "The Visitors" (1993) or the more recent American rendition "Just Visiting" (2000). Meanwhile, poor Martin Lawrence appears acutely out of place in this moronic medieval mishmash, and the laughs appear few and far between. The chief problem with "Black Knight" is Martin doesn't perform enough memorably funny routines. For the record, the only two jokes that work are Martin's '911--White man down' gag and his Rodney King impersonation. The other problem with this uninspired but harmless time-travel comedy is the sketchy, superficial characters that the talented cast struggle to flesh out. Nothing in "The Black Knight" remotely measures up to the merriment in any of his last three, giggle-inducing show-stoppers: "Blue Streak," "Big Momma's House," or "What's The Worse Thing That Can Happen." Generally, I look forward to each new Martin comedy, but even the previews for this farce augured ill for the comedian."The Black Knight" opens on a banal note as homeboy Jamal Walker ( Martin Lawrence) tweezers out an offending nose hair. What is the point of watching Jamal go through his hygienic regime, especially after the preview has strangled the spontaneity out of this lifeless gag? Anyway, Jamal be-bops off to work in his late-model ride to his job at a third-rate fantasy theme park called Medieval World Family Fun Center. What are African-Americans doing running a theme park that celebrates white supremacy? Jamal and his gruff female boss Mrs. Bo stick (Isabell Monk of "Sugar & Spice") have an adversarial relationship that is never developed beyond the usual clichés. Inexplicably, she has high hopes for Jamal over her other workers The bad news that Bostick delivers to them is that they are about to face rival competition from another medieval-oriented theme park due to open its doors soon. Jamal suggests Mrs. Bostick quit while she is ahead, take what money she has left, and head off to Miami Beach. Staunchly, she refuses to give in and sends ungrateful Jamal off to do some more ¯dirty work. While our hero is dredging debris out of a fake grungy castle moat at the entrance to the park, Jamal spots a shimmering gold medallion just beneath the surface. As he reaches for it, he looses his footing and plunges headlong into its grimy depths and gets sucked into a vortex. No sooner has Jamal hauled himself out of the drink than he finds himself face-to-face a tall drunken knight, Sir Knolte (Tom Wilkinson of "Rush Hour"). Sir Knolte has exiled himself, because he failed to help his Queen (Helen Carey) save her throne from an evil tyrant, King Leo (Kevin Conway of "Thirteen Days") and his despicable right-hand henchman Sir Percival (Vincent Conway of "Black Beauty"). Things are pretty bad when the filmmakers don't even give the Queen a name beyond her generic title! During their initial encounter, Sir Knolte keels over and lies apparently dead. Jamal revives him by spraying breath freshener down his throat, and Knolte bolts upright alive. He congratulates Jamal for saving h is life. Gee, were these screenwriters stretching?! Believing that he is still in his own time zone, Jamal leaves an indebted Knolte and shuffles off in search of the freeway only to discover a genuine castle. Initially, King Leo mistakes Jamal for a Moorish ambassador sent by the Duke of Normandy to herald his impending marriage to Leo's nymphomaniac daughter Princess Regina (newcomer Jeannette Weegar) rather than a 21st century African-American custodian. The mix-up occurs because Jamal told a pair of unsavory castle guards that he is from Normandie Street in South Central, Los Angeles. Immediately, Leo welcomes Jamal with open arms. Not long afterward, Jamal saves Leo's life from an assassination, and Leo lets him choose the maiden of his choice to bed down with. Jamal takes a shine to one of the king's foxy handmaidens, Victoria (Marsha Thomason of "Priest"), who believes Jamal has come to depose King Leo. Pardon by medieval ignorance, but were Moors that prevalent in 14th century castles? "The Black Knight" is so pathetically predictable you can guess what's going to happen long before it does. Jamal relies on football tactics to reclaim the Queen's throne. Indeed, they build the sled that coaches have players tackle. Meanwhile, wicked Percival resolves to skewer Jamal on his sword when the real Norman emissary shows up. Naturally, by the time this happens, King Leo's randy daughter has bedded down with Jamal and he winds up in the dungeon with the other revolutionaries who praise his strategy. Another flaw in the mediocre script is Jamal takes far too long to realize he's stuck in 1328 A.D., especially when he checks out the privy. Other flaws involve the use of arrows. Evidently, a villainous character can take an arrow in the chest and die, while a heroic character can survive one! Director Gil Junger and his scribes have forged an unfunny, fish-out-of-water farce that doesn't exploit Martin Lawrence's improvisatory comic genius. Alas, Lawrence cannot compete with the Looney Tunes cartoon variation on this plot where Bugs Bunny was "A Connecticut Rabbit in King Arthur's Court." Skip this nonsense!