"BLACK KNIGHT" (2001) (Martin Lawrence, Tom Wilkinson) (PG-13) Alcohol/ Drugs Blood/Gore Disrespectful/ Bad Attitude Frightening/ Tense Scenes Guns/ Weapons Moderate Moderate Extreme *Mild Extreme Imitative Behavior Jump Scenes Music (Scary/Tense) Music (Inappropriate) Profanity Moderate None Heavy Mild Moderate Sex/ Nudity Smoking Tense Family Scenes Topics To Talk About Violence Heavy None None Mild *Extreme QUICK TAKE: Comedy: A 21st century man finds himself transported back to 14th century England where he finds himself caught up in a rebellion to overthrow the corrupt king. PLOT: Jamal Walker (MARTIN LAWRENCE) is a 21st century man who, along with his buddy Steve (DARYL MITCHELL), works for Mrs. Bostick (ISABELL MONK) at Medieval World Family Fun Center. Not the most loyal employee, Jamal already has his application ready for Castle World, a competing attraction set to open in two weeks. He doesn't get the chance to apply, however, for when he's cleaning out the moat and trying to reach a medallion he's spotted, he's pulled beneath the water and suddenly finds himself in 14th century England. Of course, he doesn't realize that, and instead thinks he's somehow stumbled over to Castle World and is impressed by what appears to be quite the level of detail they've applied to the setting. After meeting former knight and now loner drunk Sir Knolte (TOM WILKINSON), Jamal enters the castle where he's mistaken as the messenger for the Duke of Normandy whose arrival is imminent. Jamal goes along with what he thinks is an elaborate production and meets what he thinks are various actors. Among them is King Leo (KEVIN CONWAY) and his daughter, Princess Regina (JEANNETTE WEEGAR), who has an eye for Jamal, as well as Percival (VINCENT REGAN), the king's no-nonsense right-hand man who doesn't like the foreigner he refers to as a Moor. Then there's Victoria (MARSHA THOMASON), one of the King's chambermaids to whom Jamal is instantly attracted. She, however, is secretly working with others in a rebellion to overthrow the corrupt king and reinstate the Queen (HELEN CAREY) back into power. As Jamal finally realizes where he really is and tries to get used to life in the 14th century and its trappings, he must decide whether to return to the 21st century or help Victoria, Knolte and others take on the king and his men. WILL KIDS WANT TO SEE IT? If they're fans of Lawrence, they probably will. WHY THE MPAA RATED IT: PG-13 For language, sexual/crude humor and battle violence. CAST AS ROLE MODELS: MARTIN LAWRENCE plays a 21st century man who inadvertently finds himself back in 14th century England. Although it takes him a while to figure out where he is, he eventually sets out to teach the locals a thing or two, bed a chambermaid (and the princess) and help overthrow a corrupt king. He also uses profanity and does a lot of exaggerated mugging and physical moves. TOM WILKINSON plays a former knight who's become a drunk after allowing the Queen to lose the throne. He eventually comes around, however, and assists Jamal and others in overthrowing the king. MARSHA THOMASON plays one of the king's chambermaids who's really planning with others to overthrow the King. She briefly uses profanity. VINCENT REGAN plays the king's stern right-hand man who has it out for Jamal and others. KEVIN CONWAY plays the corrupt King who had the previous monarch removed so that he could assume the throne. JEANNETTE WEEGAR plays his lascivious daughter, the princess, who finds herself attracted to and sleeps with Jamal. CAST, CREW, & TECHNICAL INFO HOW OTHERS RATED THIS MOVIE Curious if this title is entertaining, any good, and/or has any artistic merit? Then read OUR TAKE of this film. (Note: The "Our Take" review of this title examines the film's artistic merits and does not take into account any of the possibly objectionable material listed below). OUR WORD TO PARENTS: The following is a brief summary of the content found in this comedy that's been rated PG-13. Violence consists of a prolonged battle sequence where many people are wounded or killed via arrows or being struck by swords, although most of it's blood and gore free. A person is beheaded in an execution (only partially seen), but we later see several severed heads on poles. Other non-lethal fighting is present, and such scenes could be unsettling or suspenseful to some viewers, while various participants in that and other material have varying degrees of bad attitudes. The protagonist sleeps with a woman who crawls into bed with him (thinking she's another woman), and audibly feigns another encounter to fool some guards who are listening (to their moans and non-explicit dialogue). Other non-explicit, sexually related comments are made, while various women show varying amounts of cleavage in their period dresses, and one exposes her breasts to the protagonist (but we only see her bare back). Profanity consists of an incomplete "f" word (used with "mother"), 10 "s" words and various other expletives and colorful phrases. One character is drunk in several scenes, while some scatological material and imitative behavior is also present. If you're still concerned about the film and its appropriateness for anyone in your home, we suggest that you take a closer look at our detailed content listings for more specific information about what's present in and/or occurs during the film. ALCOHOL OR DRUG USE Knolte is drunk and eventually falls down after passing out. The King and others drink what's presumably ale. Various people drink. Jamal mentions taking Victoria back to the present and having Mai Tais. Knolte drinks and appears a bit inebriated and one of the king's men purposefully drops a flask of liquor into a pile of manure to see if he'll go for it. Jamal's boss asks him, "Are you on the pipe?" when she thinks he's talking crazy. BLOOD/GORE After Jamal announces he has to "drain the anaconda" (urinate), he's shown the bathroom which is just a bench with a hole in it. We then see Jamal react to the sight and smell of that. After a person is beheaded during an execution, Jamal picks up the head (we only see the top of it and no blood) thinking it's a prop, but then faints when he realizes it's real. We see various severed heads (including a fresh one) placed on the end of poles/spears. We see various leeches on Jamal's back (one hanging on as it's pulled off) that have been put there by Victoria. We hear the King fart at dinner. After some prisoners tell Jamal the story about the black knight, he sarcastically tells them that's why they shouldn't drink their own urine (which we don't see). A man purposefully drops a flask of liquor into a pile of manure to see if Knolte will go for it. He doesn't, but moments later the man's face - with open mouth - is driven down into that manure. We see a tiny bit of blood around an arrow wound in a man's shirt. A woman's throat has a slightly bloody cut on it. DISRESPECTFUL/BAD ATTITUDE Jamal has no loyalty to where he works and already has an application to get a job with a competitor. Percival has both toward Jamal, and also repeatedly calls him a Moor (as do others). He also sexually harasses various women, including Victoria, and then tries to kill several people. We hear that King Leo killed the former king and drove off the queen. FRIGHTENING SCENES Scenes listed under "Violence" may also be unsettling or suspenseful to some viewers, but most of them and the following will probably only come off that way to very young and/or sensitive viewers. As Jamal reaches his hand down into a modern day moat to retrieve a medallion, he's suddenly pulled down into and then under the water. A person is beheaded during an execution (we see the swinging of the ax and the top of the head as it pops off - with no gore). Jamal then picks up the head (we only see the top of it and no blood) thinking it's a prop, but then faints when he realizes it's real. We see various leeches on Jamal's back (one hanging on as it's pulled off) that have been put there by Victoria. An executioner prepares to decapitate Jamal (and is head is put on the block), but it never happens. Percival holds a knife to Victoria and then appears to slit her throat, but we then see that it's only a superficial cut (with a little bit of blood). Jamal suddenly finds himself in the Roman Coliseum with several lions chasing after him. GUNS/WEAPONS Swords/Knives/Arrows/Crossbows: Carried and/or used to threaten, wound or kill people. See "Violence" for details. IMITATIVE BEHAVIOR Phrases: "Oh, sh*t," "No sh*t," "Sh*t you not," "Sh*tty," "What the hell?" "Big ass," "Oh, hell no," "Dumb ass," "Oh, damn," "What the hell is wrong with you?" "Idiot," "Metallic ass," "You might wanna take a chill pill," "Drain the anaconda" (urinate), "Bastard," "Drunk ass," "Kicking ass," "Dumb ass," "You look like hell," "Shut up" and "You scared the hell out of me." Jamal does all sorts of mugging and facial contortions at the camera (which is posing as his mirror) that some kids might want to imitate. Moments later, he does some (clothed) pelvic thrusting while dancing. We hear the King fart at dinner and he then tears off food for Jamal with his bare hands (that the dogs were just licking) and then offers him peas with his bare hand. Some kids might want to imitate all of the action-based fighting that occurs (and includes shooting people with arrows). JUMP SCENES None. MUSIC (SCARY/TENSE) A heavy amount of suspenseful and ominous music plays in the film. MUSIC (INAPPROPRIATE) A song has lyrics along the lines of "Baby I want to touch you" and something about "If you want to eat me, eat me," but we didn't catch the entire context of the song. PROFANITY At least 1 incomplete use of the "f" word (used with "mother"), 10 "s" words, 22 asses (2 used with "hole"), 8 damns and 7 hells used as exclamations. In addition, we see that someone has written graffiti on the modern day castle wall that reads "-uck you Bostick" with the "f" having already been scrubbed off. SEX/NUDITY As Jamal prepares to perform CPR on Knolte who's passed out from being drunk, Jamal explains that if he (Knolte) should wake up and see Jamal over him, he's "not like that" (a homosexual reference). Victoria shows a little cleavage in her low-cut, period dress and Jamal asks if she owns a thong (she has no idea what he's talking about). Percival sexually harasses various women, including Victoria. The Princess shows cleavage. The King announces that Jamal can "lie with any damsel he desires," except for his daughter. As Victoria reaches down into her dress (as if she's starting to undo it), Jamal thinks she's wanting to have sex and so lies down on the bed and partially removes his pants (commenting on how the people there like to make people feel welcome). He stops when he realizes she was just retrieving a medallion like his and isn't interested in sex. Jamal briefly looks under a horse's belly and says "damn" in presumed reaction to seeing its genitals (that we don't see). The Princess suddenly and passionately kisses Jamal. Later, while showing cleavage, she suggestively licks her tongue at Jamal while he talks with her father. Trying to convince Jamal to stay, the King then says that he'll give him women for his bed, and then adds, "As many as you need." Jamal then decides to stay. We hear that Jamal gets to share the King's booty, which turns out to be Victoria who comes in and drops the top of her robe in front of Jamal (he sees her bare breasts, we see her bare back). When he announces that he told others that he wanted to have sex with her just so that they wouldn't get suspicious of the two of them talking, she pulls her robe back up. He then tells her that they have to audibly act like they're having sex to fool the guards. At first, she doesn't go along with this, so he plays both parts, making sexual sounds for both of them (and we see the guards' reaction to those sounds and words such as "Oh yeah. Oh. Oh girl. There it is"). For her, he states (in a faked woman's voice), "Oh, sire. You're hung like a horse." As the two guards continue to listen, she finally chimes in with her own bit, but then leaves (with Jamal acting like he just had sex when one of the guards then comes in). We then see a woman we presume is Victoria returning to Jamal's bedroom at night and slipping into bed with him (as he comments on wondering if she was going to come back and say goodnight). The next morning, however, we see that it's the Princess with whom he had sex, and there's talk of him deflowering the King's daughter when others storm into the room. Jamal then replies that "somebody got to that flower long before I did" and then adds, "Your daughter's a freak" (meaning sexually). That causes her to get out of bed, grabbing clothing or material around her as she goes (we see her bare back). Jamal mentions taking Victoria back to the present where she could get a thong. Jamal and Victoria do some brief French kissing. SMOKING None. TENSE FAMILY SCENES None. TOPICS TO TALK ABOUT Life in medieval times and how someone from modern times would or wouldn't fit in. CPR - Jamal nearly has to perform it on Knolte. How Jamal changes during the course of the film. VIOLENCE While plentiful (particularly during the battle near the end of the movie), little of the following violence is presented in a graphic/explicit fashion (meaning many people are wounded or killed, but without much blood/gore). Percival and his men nearly run over Jamal on their horses (on purpose). Percival briefly threatens Jamal with his sword. A person is beheaded during an execution (we see the swinging of the ax and the top of the head as it pops off - with no gore). Jamal then picks up the head (we only see the top of it and no blood) thinking it's a prop, but then faints when he realizes it's real. A horse kicks a person backwards and then throws Jamal from its back. Percival holds a dagger on Jamal who distracts him long enough to run away. As he's being chased, two men pull out knives with which they plan to assassinate the King, but Jamal inadvertently ends up falling onto them (and knocking down the king), thus putting an end to their attempt. Knolte shoots a flaming arrow that hits a sentry in the back, causing him to fall from a wall. Jamal then struggles with others and knocks some down as he tries to escape. Percival then throws a knife at Jamal but it hits a guard in the chest instead. Guards then shoot many arrows at Jamal and Knolte as they ride away. Some men surround Knolte, who's a bit drunk, in the woods, and then begin pushing him around. Jamal then shows up and one of the men tries punching him. Jamal ducks and the punch hits another man instead. Jamal then punches the man, in boxing style, many times, while fending off his and the others' punches (again like a boxer). They finally get control of Jamal, however, with one of them punching him in the gut several times. Knolte, however, grabs one man and bends his arm behind his back (and pushes his face down into a pile of manure), while Jamal kicks another man in the crotch. We see that the king's men have burned down a village and injured various people (we don't see any wounds) and killed others (not seen). As Jamal teaches the men how to fight the king's men, we see various training exercises where various men are knocked down, thrown aside or clotheslined. Knolte and his men find themselves surrounded by Percival and his men in the castle. A battle then breaks out where the two groups clash and many people are hit (and wounded or killed) with arrows and swords, but none of the wounds are graphic or bloody. Jamal hits his head on a low overhang and is knocked from his ride. Men on either side of Jamal shoot crossbows at him, but end up hitting each other with their arrows. More fighting continues with people being knocked around, and hit with swords or arrows. Percival pushes the king off the top of the tower and he falls down into the moat. Knolte does some boxing moves and punches with a man he's fighting, but is then hit in the chest by an arrow (but is later seen alive, albeit wounded). Percival holds a knife to Victoria and then appears to slit her throat, but we then see that it's only a superficial cut (with a little bit of blood). Jamal tackles Percival and they briefly struggle at the edge of the castle wall. The two then fight with Jamal flipping Percival over several times. A person is shot in the back with an arrow and falls from the castle wall to his presumed death. Reviewed November 15, 2001 / Posted November 21, 2001

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