The performances transcend the film's tropes, grounding it in characters that feel more complete than this subgenre often produces.

I enjoyed watching this film and would recommend other to give it a try , (as I am) but this movie, although enjoyable to watch due to the better than average acting fails to add anything new to its storyline that is all too familiar to these types of movies.

The film's masterful storytelling did its job. The message was clear. No need to overdo.

Actress is magnificent and exudes a hypnotic screen presence in this affecting drama.

I love French comedy movies. They are always a bit silly and straight- forward at times, but for me it beats the nonsense and obscene you typically find in Hollywood's comedies. In those American movies, the characters are either too stupid, so stupid that they have no common sense at all, or they are just too smart that they response with carefully thought line that normal people would have taken a while to think of. And if you watch a lot of movies like me, these punchy lines are repeated over and over again. I remember I enjoyed this very movie when it aired on TV 10-20 years ago. I have a tendency not to re-watch movies, but I laughed so much when watching this movie again. It definitely earns my recommendation.

For me it took until about half the way through this movie to really get rolling, but it is a lot of fun once you just relax and enjoy the ride. It's not a deep farce, just an enjoyable one. It has a lot of slapstick, but it's not too heavy mostly, although there is a bit of blood and barbarity in the beginning part set in medieval times. (Possibly some of the harsher parts in the beginning aren't suitable for young children--I'm not sure what goes nowadays. By this I mean a graphic beheading and a couple of deaths by crossbow, both played for humor.) The best thing about this movie is that it doesn't sink to the level of a lowest common denominator comedy and retains some intelligence throughout. Overall, just give it time to build momentum and it's a fun time.

As was mentioned in a previous review, I, too, am sure that some of the great dialogue in French was missing when they wrote out the subtitles, but even so, the gist of this movie is easy to follow. The dialogue, even for the 11th century scenes, is crisp and at times very clever, but it's not until the main characters end up in the modern world and are dealing with a populace too self-involved with themselves to really notice that something is amiss, that the real fun begins. The movie starts out in the 11th century and warring clans between France and England and a specific knight who only wants to get back to his love so he can marry her. On the way they encounter a witch who somehow manages to lace his water with something that makes him see a ferocious beast chasing his beloved, when in fact it's her father. He shoots to kill, and does, thus ruining his chances of marriage and having descendants. He can, though fix this error, and heads to the local wizard, who is senile, and the knight, with his slave, end up in modern-day France. They then have to figure out how to get back, since he if does not he realizes that the descendant that ends up helping him will no longer exist. The movie somewhat reminded me of some Monty Python gags, but without the overt silliness. This was an intelligent comedy, at times with some silly elements, but they did not come off as such. Our hero, even when saying something absolutely funny, does so with the style and grace as only nobility can. This is where Reno shines. Who knew? All I have ever seen him in is crime thrillers or dramas, but the man can do comedy and does it well. But what makes this movie so very funny is everyone else around them, all talking fast, so you need to read those subtitles very fast, and all the little actions going on at the same time that somehow have nothing to do with the knight and his side-kick, yet we realize that they actually do, as everything is linked to something along the way. Overall, an excellent movie for some general fun using witty dialogue.

I once commented rather unflatteringly on a film featuring French comedian Louis de Funes a few years ago, and I believe it is one of the least 'useful' comments I have written. Something like 0 out of 19, I think. When it comes to French humour I clearly don't 'get' it, because this successful comedy also left me cold.It begins promisingly, and the scenes featuring Jean Reno's Godefrey de Papincourt and Christian Clavier's Jacquard in their own time are by far the funniest and strongest. Unfortunately, things descend into a typically Gallic farce when they unexpectedly find themselves transported to modern-day France. It's surprising, really, because you'd think the potential for laughs from this 'fish out of water' scenario would be virtually inexhaustible. In this case, however, they're practically invisible. The hapless knight and his serf drink water from the toilet and leave the basin taps running, they pull light fittings from the wall believing them to be torches (one of the funnier moments) and get travel sickness in cars.Jean Reno has a face made for comedy – although this is the first one I can remember seeing him in and he provides most of the laughs. Clavier's brand of humour is too broad (he also co-wrote) and he is too prone to pulling faces to get laughs. Many of the other characters are simply annoying; they either do stupid things or stand around screeching at what Reno and Clavier are doing. Clavier plays two roles, and it's a toss up as to which is the least funny.Other reviewers have suggested that much of the humour will be lost if you need to rely on subtitles to understand what is being said. While this may be true, it can't account for the number of visual gags that fall flat.