First Knight focuses on the love triangle between King Arthur, his Queen, Guinevere, and Lancelot. Rather than being the model of chivalry from legend, First Knight's Lancelot (Richard Gere) is a brash, cocky swordfighter who roams the countryside fighting for money. One day, he stumbles across a damsel in distress, Guinevere (Julia Ormond), and the two end up falling for each other. Rather than staying with her hero, Guinevere instead decides to honor her commitment to travel to Camelot and marry King Arthur (Sean Connery). Guinevere falls for Arthur and things look great until Lancelot shows up in Camelot and passes an odd contraption called "The Gauntlet".
Lancelot becomes a guest at Camelot, only to find himself smack in the middle of a power-grab by Prince Malagant (Ben Cross). Guinevere is kidnapped, Lancelot goes to rescue her and earns a spot as a Knight of the Round Table - further complicating the affair.
As a pure action movie, First Knight accomplishes what it sets out to do. The story is complicated enough that it is interesting without becoming bogged down and forgetting to have fun. There are a number of great, Indiana Jones-styled action pieces, including the "Gauntlet" and the rescue from Malagant's underground castle, complete with a giant leap of faith. However, if you're a stickler for movies sticking to the original source material, then First Knight isn't for you - unless you watch it with the optional "Arthurian Legend" Commentary, which actually shows that the legend being presented in the movie may not be that far off from older stories.
Perhaps the weakest aspect of First Knight is its acting. All three of the main actors turn in good performances, though I've seen them do better. Julia Ormond gives the best performance, followed closely by Sean Connery, who does a great job at making the older Arthur still seem like a viable love interest for Guinevere. Richard Gere is, well... Richard Gere. While some of my dislike might stem from a general dislike of Richard Gere as an actor, I wasn't a fan of his Lancelot. Still, it's a good enough performance that it makes the whole love triangle work.
Outside the two commentary tracks, First Knight also comes with three featurettes. One shows the types of training the actors underwent to become knights, while another focuses on the creation of Camelot. The most revealing features several actors reflecting on the story and the roles they play, as well as some of the decisions that were made during production to support the characters.
Taken for what it is, First Knight is a great action movie; otherwise there are plenty of other Arthur movies to choose from.
