Lancelot (Richard Gere) is a rogue with no ties, no enemies, and no fear- until he meets Lady Guinevere of Leonesse (Julia Ormond). She has promised to marry King Arthur (Sean Connery), not only because his armies can protect her country, but because she truly loves him. But her chance encounter with Lancelot as she prepared to enter Camelot stirs conflicting and powerful emotions within her. Arthur welcomes both into his city with open heart, little foreseeing how his great capacity for love and trust opens the doors for his own betrayal.
cast
Sean Connery as King Arthur
quote
Lancelot: Do you know how to win a sword fight?
John: How?
Lancelot: Be the only one with a sword!
FIRST KNIGHT is Jerry Zucker's re-invention of a segment of the Arthurian legend ("re-interpretation" would be too light a word to describe the wholesale changes made to the Vulgate Cycle). What we get here, however, is often unintentionally closer to MONTY PYTHON AND THE HOLY GRAIL's silliness than to EXCALIBUR's melodramatic grandeur. Bad acting, dumb dialogue, and confusing cinematography abound, creating one of the most shoddy Camelot stories to date. What makes FIRST KNIGHT seem even worse is that it's up against the vastly superior BRAVEHEART, a romantic adventure in very much the same vein, although formed from an entirely different mould.