''Black Knight'' is a 2001 American

fantasy Fantasy is a genre of speculative fiction involving magical elements, typically set in a fictional universe and sometimes inspired by mythology and folklore. Its roots are in oral traditions, which then became fantasy literature and d ...

adventure An adventure is an exciting experience or undertaking that is typically bold, sometimes risky. Adventures may be activities with danger such as traveling, exploring, skydiving, mountain climbing, scuba diving, river rafting, or other extreme ...

buddy

comedy film A comedy film is a category of film which emphasizes humor. These films are designed to make the audience laugh through amusement. Films in this style traditionally have a happy ending ( black comedy being an exception). Comedy is one of the o ...

directed by

Gil Junger Gil Junger (born November 7, 1954) is an American director, most famous for ''10 Things I Hate About You'', his directorial film debut. He is a 1972 graduate of the Trinity-Pawling School in Pawling, New York. Filmography Film Television * ...

and starring Martin Lawrence. In addition to Lawrence, ''Black Knight'' had a supporting cast of

Marsha Thomason Marsha Lisa Thomason Sykes (born 19 January 1976) is a British television and film actress who is best known for playing Sara Evers in Disney's ''The Haunted Mansion'', Nessa Holt in the first two seasons of the NBC series '' Las Vegas'', Naomi ...

, Tom Wilkinson,

Vincent Regan Vincent Regan (born 16 May 1965) is a British film and television actor, best known for his roles in '' 300'', ''Troy'', '' Unleashed'', '' Clash of the Titans'' and '' Lockout''. Early life Regan was born on 16 May 1965 in Swansea, Glamorgan, ...

, and Kevin Conway. In the film, Lawrence plays Jamal, a theme park employee who is transported through time to medieval England. The film was shot at various locations in

North Carolina North Carolina () is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. The state is the List of U.S. states and territories by area, 28th largest and List of states and territories of the United ...

, mainly Wilmington and

Carolina Beach Carolina Beach is a beach town in New Hanover County, North Carolina, United States, situated about south of Wilmington International Airport in southeastern coastal North Carolina. As of the 2020 census, the city population was 6,564. It is par ...

. ''Black Knight'' was theatrically released on November 21, 2001 to negative reviews and grossed $39.9 million against a production budget of $50 million.

Plot

Jamal Walker is an everyday slacker with a job at a

theme park An amusement park is a park that features various attractions, such as rides and games, as well as other events for entertainment purposes. A theme park is a type of amusement park that bases its structures and attractions around a central ...

called Medieval World, which is about to receive big competition from another theme park, Castle World. While cleaning a

moat A moat is a deep, broad ditch, either dry or filled with water, that is dug and surrounds a castle, fortification, building or town, historically to provide it with a preliminary line of defence. In some places moats evolved into more extensive ...

surrounding the park, he finds a

medallion A medal or medallion is a small portable artistic object, a thin disc, normally of metal, carrying a design, usually on both sides. They typically have a commemorative purpose of some kind, and many are presented as awards. They may be int ...

, and when he tries to retrieve it, he gets sucked into the past. He awakens in

1328 in England Events from the 1320s in England. Incumbents *Monarch – Edward II (to 25 January 1327), then Edward III Events * 1320 ** Walter de Stapledon appointed as Lord High Treasurer. ** Many horses die of a disease called "Ffarsine". * 1321 ** May � ...

, where he is first met by a drunkard named Knolte. He finds a castle that he thinks is Castle World, so he decides to check it out. The tenants of the castle believe him to be a

French French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents ** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...

Moor, from

Normandy Normandy (; french: link=no, Normandie ; nrf, Normaundie, Nouormandie ; from Old French , plural of ''Normant'', originally from the word for "northman" in several Scandinavian languages) is a geographical and cultural region in Northwestern ...

, because he tells them he is from

Florence Florence ( ; it, Firenze ) is a city in Central Italy and the capital city of the Tuscany region. It is the most populated city in Tuscany, with 383,083 inhabitants in 2016, and over 1,520,000 in its metropolitan area.Bilancio demografico ...

and Normandie, a famous

intersection In mathematics, the intersection of two or more objects is another object consisting of everything that is contained in all of the objects simultaneously. For example, in Euclidean geometry, when two lines in a plane are not parallel, thei ...

South Central Los Angeles South Los Angeles, also known as South Central Los Angeles or simply South Central, is a region in southwestern Los Angeles County, lying mostly within the city limits of Los Angeles, south of downtown. It is "defined on Los Angeles city maps as a ...

. Jamal is soon taken in by the reigning king, King Leo. He is assumed to be a messenger from Normandy whom the king believes to be bringing news of an alliance between England and Normandy. Although at first Jamal thinks that all the people around him are just actors in a theme park, he changes his mind when he witnesses a

beheading Decapitation or beheading is the total separation of the head from the body. Such an injury is invariably fatal to humans and most other animals, since it deprives the brain of oxygenated blood, while all other organs are deprived of the i ...

. He gives his name as Jamal "Sky" Walker after his high school basketball nickname, and, after gaining trust from the king by accidentally preventing his

assassination Assassination is the murder of a prominent or important person, such as a head of state, head of government, politician, world leader, member of a royal family or CEO. The murder of a celebrity, activist, or artist, though they may not have ...

, Jamal is made a lord and head of security. While all of this is going on, Jamal learns from Victoria, a

chambermaid A maid, or housemaid or maidservant, is a female domestic worker. In the Victorian era domestic service was the second largest category of employment in England and Wales, after agricultural work. In developed Western nations, full-time maids ...

, about the ruthless way the king came to power by overthrowing the former queen. Jamal, believing the situation to be beyond his control, states to Victoria that "He is not the guy you're looking for." After a brief debate with Victoria who states that he wears the

and this deems him to be a man of honor, Victoria becomes frustrated with Jamal's refusal to intervene and leaves, believing Jamal to be a coward. Later that night, the daughter of the king, Princess Regina (who is infatuated with Jamal) sneaks into Jamal's bedroom. Jamal, believing the princess to be Victoria, sleeps with Regina. When the real Norman messenger arrives, seeking the Princess Regina's hand in marriage on behalf of his liege, Jamal is exposed as a fraud. The actions of the previous night have rendered an alliance with Normandy impossible, infuriating the king. Jamal is thrown straight into the dungeon and arraigned for execution with the two assassins from the previous attempt on Leo's life. In the dungeon, the two failed assassins tell the tale of the

Black Knight The black knight is a literary stock character who masks his identity and that of his liege by not displaying heraldry. Black knights are usually portrayed as villainous figures who use this anonymity for misdeeds. They are often contrasted with t ...

. It is stated that the Knight could not be bought or bribed, but would only fight for justice. It was told that he was swallowed whole by a fierce dragon, but with a sword of gold, he cut himself from the belly of the beast and he himself could breathe the fire of the dragon. The two rebels and Jamal are brought forth for execution. As a last resort and fearing his life, Jamal poses himself as a sorcerer and attempts to scare the superstitious onlookers to make his escape. As the executioner begins to choke on an apple, the crowd believes Jamal to have cast a spell of death upon him. In the commotion, Jamal saves the executioner using the

Heimlich Manoeuvre Abdominal thrusts, also known as the Heimlich maneuver or Heimlich manoeuvre, is a first aid procedure used to treat upper airway obstructions (or choking) by foreign objects. American doctor Henry Heimlich is often credited for its creation. ...

. Using this distraction and flaming arrows fired from outside the walls, Jamal escapes the castle with the aid of Victoria and finally Knolte on horseback. Jamal also learns that Knolte was really a knight of the former queen who was disgraced when she lost her throne. Through their help and his own realization of the situation, Jamal soon understands he must help overthrow King Leo and help restore the queen to her throne. With some effort, Jamal manages to convince the decimated rebels and townsfolk to band together to overthrow the king. Using modern-day tactics used in

American football American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team wi ...

and

pro wrestling Professional wrestling is a form of theater that revolves around staged wrestling matches. The mock combat is performed in a ring similar to the kind used in boxing, and the dramatic aspects of pro wrestling may be performed both in the ring o ...

, he gives the peasants the means to fight the armed and armored king's guards. Out of gratitude for helping him find his honor again, Knolte teaches some basic sword-fighting manoeuvres to Jamal, and also tells him that he has an idea that may give them an advantage in the upcoming battle. The next day, Knolte and the rebels storm the castle, only to find themselves quickly surrounded by guards and Leo's bodyguard, Percival. Seemingly outmatched by armor, archers and cavalry, the rebels are pushed back. The tide turns briefly when the legendary

charges in, breathing fire and scattering the guards, but the plan goes awry when he falls from his horse and is revealed to be Jamal in disguise. Using their newfound skills, the peasants succeed in overpowering the guards, but Knolte is severely wounded by a

longbow A longbow (known as warbow in its time, in contrast to a hunting bow) is a type of tall Bow and arrow, bow that makes a fairly long Bow draw, draw possible. A longbow is not significantly Recurve bow, recurved. Its limbs are relatively narrow an ...

shot from Percival, who takes Victoria hostage. King Leo becomes scared as his troops are being defeated, and asks Percival for safety. Percival, who already sees Leo as pathetic and weak as a leader, kills him and throws him in the moat. Charging to the rescue, Jamal surprises Percival with his fighting skills, rescuing Victoria. However, after waking from being knocked out by Jamal, Percival is then shot dead by Knolte before he could administer a killing blow to Jamal. Jubilation surrounds the rebels when they realize victory is theirs. After the queen's reign is restored, Jamal is knighted by her. During the dubbing, he awakes back at Medieval World surrounded by his co-workers and a medical team, who saved him from drowning in the moat, implying that Jamal's entire adventure was a dream. Jamal's whole attitude changes from his experience, and he helps his boss to make Medieval World better so that Castle World will not run them out of business. Later on, Jamal takes a walk around the new Medieval World and meets a woman named Nicole who looks just like Victoria. They talk a little and he asks her out to lunch. Unfortunately, Jamal forgets to get Nicole's number, and when he tries to catch up to her, he accidentally falls back into the moat, waking up in the

Colosseum The Colosseum ( ; it, Colosseo ) is an oval amphitheatre in the centre of the city of Rome, Italy, just east of the Roman Forum. It is the largest ancient amphitheatre ever built, and is still the largest standing amphitheatre in the world ...

Ancient Rome In modern historiography, ancient Rome refers to Roman people, Roman civilisation from the founding of the city of Rome in the 8th century BC to the collapse of the Western Roman Empire in the 5th century AD. It encompasses the Roman Kingdom ...

, where he is about to be devoured by

lion The lion (''Panthera leo'') is a large cat of the genus '' Panthera'' native to Africa and India. It has a muscular, broad-chested body; short, rounded head; round ears; and a hairy tuft at the end of its tail. It is sexually dimorphic; adu ...

Cast

* Martin Lawrence as Jamal Walker/"Skywalker" *

as Victoria the Chambermaid and Nicole * Tom Wilkinson as Sir Knolte of Marlborough * Kevin Conway as King Leo *

as Percival * Daryl Mitchell as Steve * Michael Countryman as Phillip * Jeannette Weegar as Princess Regina * Erik Jensen as Derek *

Dikran Tulaine Dikran Tulaine (born 23 June 1956) is an English-Armenian actor, storyteller and playwright. He had a recurring guest role of Max on the NBC series ''The Blacklist'' (2013–21), and was in the films '' G.I. Joe: Retaliation'' (2013), ''Black K ...

as Dennis * Helen Carey as The Queen * Robert Alan Harris as King Leo's Squire

Production

Development

The film was announced to release on November 21, 2001 by Fox.

Reception

Box office

The film opened at #4 at the U.S. box office on its opening weekend with $11.2 million. ''Black Knight'' grossed $39.9 million worldwide against a $50 million budget, making it a

box office bomb A box-office bomb, or box-office disaster, is a film that is unprofitable or considered highly unsuccessful during its theatrical run. Although any film for which the production, marketing, and distribution costs combined exceed the revenue after ...

Critical response

Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee, and Stephen Wan ...

, the film has an approval rating of 14% based on 98 reviews, with an average rating of 3.52/10. The site's consensus states, "''Black Knight'' feels like a lazily constructed movie, filled with lame gags and constant mugging from Lawrence." The film has also drawn attention from scholars. Addressing it as one of the few contemporary films that cast African American characters in medieval settings, Laurie A. Finke and Martin B. Shichtman noted that the film provided commentary on early 21st-century race relations in the United States, noting that despite his triumphs in the medieval setting, by the end, Jamal "continues to live in white America, which requires hybridity, not dominance, from African American men. He may be a better man for his excellent medieval adventure, but he is still black, poor, underemployed, and living in the hood.”

Awards and nominations

Motion Picture Sound Editors

* Nominated for Golden Reel Award for Best Sound Editing - Music - Feature Film, Domestic and Foreign

References

External links

* * * * *
''Black Knight''
at

Yahoo! Movies Yahoo! Movies (formerly Upcoming Movies), provided by the Yahoo! network, is home to a large collection of information on movies, past and new releases, trailers and clips, box office information, and showtimes and movie theater information. Yaho ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Black Knight (Film) 2001 films 2000s adventure comedy films American adventure comedy films American fantasy comedy films Films about time travel 20th Century Fox films Regency Enterprises films Films about rebellions Films shot in North Carolina Films set in amusement parks Films set in castles Films set in the 14th century Films set in England Films set in medieval England Films directed by Gil Junger Films scored by Randy Edelman 2000s fantasy comedy films 2001 comedy films 2000s English-language films Films produced by Arnon Milchan 2000s American films