Tristan & Isolde

Starring: James Franco, Sophia Myles, Rufus Sewell
Directed by: Kevin Reynolds
Rating: PG-13
Genre: Action, Drama, Romance
2006

Times Seen:
Tim: 1

Summary: British warrior Tristan (James Franco) is believed dead and sent off in a funeral boat by his good friend (Rufus Sewell). However, Tristan isn't dead, and he is revived by Irish princess Isolde (Sophia Myles). Although technically enemies, the two fall in love, although tragic events threaten to tear them apart.

Review:

Tim: I actually enjoyed this movie. I had mixed feelings going into it. On the one hand, I like James Franco and medieval movies. On the other hand, the movie looked a little odd and I wasn't sure the "love story" would play out well. Fortunately, the movie is effective, the action is entertaining, and it is actually a pretty good love story as well.

The movie works better than it probably should have. It does a terrific job of blending both sword and shields action and fairly impressive romantic scenes as well.

James Franco is actually fairly decent. He is believable as a medival warrior but his best scenes are those with Sophia Myles. Myles and Franco have a good deal of chemistry and I enjoyed watching them together. Rufus Sewell also adds a very good performance as well. He is surprisingly one of the best parts of the film.

One of the things I really liked about this movie is that I was surprised by the film. As I was watching this movie, I could see where the film was headed, and it worried me, because it seemed like it would go into a silly cliche. However, the film avoids the typical cliches you'd expect, and instead, gives us a fairly powerful story instead. Now, the film does suffer from some of the weaknesses you'd associate with a quickly made, somewhat low-budget type movie. Still, the movie is enjoyable.

Tristan & Isolde is not a movie I would want to watch over and over again. Yet, it still managed to entertain me, so I don't have any ill thoughts or feelings toward it. It probably could have been better, but it does get the job done. You can do far worse than this film.

Rating 1-10
Tim's Rating: 7



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