Oh man, I so don't feel like writing this review. I didn't see this movie by choice, I pretty much went begrudgingly, and the movie is so painfully mediocre, there's nothing about it that makes me wanna write this review. I guess that means that this will end up being a pretty short review.
"Tristan & Isolde" isn't a horrible movie, but it isn't a very good movie either. It tells the famous story of two starcrossed lovers who lived centuries before the fictional Romeo & Juliet. Maybe the story of Tristan & Isolde is what inspired William Shakespeare to write Romeo & Juliet, but I don't know and I don't care.
I can't rip on this movie too badly, because it isn't really that bad, and it does have its moments. The battle scenes are surprisingly intense considering that it's PG-13, but I can't help but to think that it would have been a lot cooler if it was rated R. The battle scenes would have been more brutal and the sex scenes would have been more interesting. Besides, the movie could have used some more sex and violence, because the story isn't all that great. Actually, the basic story isn't so bad, but the way it was told could have been better.
"Tristan & Isolde" was directed by Kevin Reynolds, who also directed "The Count of Monte Cristo," "One Eight Seven," "Waterworld," and "Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves." The only one of those movies that I saw was "Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves," which I didn't like. I never saw "Waterworld," but I heard that it's better than most critics gave it credit for. I don't really have much of an opinion of Kevin Reynolds, but he once said something about Kevin Costner that I think is pretty funny: "Kevin Costner should only act in movies he directs. That way, he can work with his favorite actor and director." Heh, I like that. As for the movie's screenplay, it was written by Dean Georgaris, who wrote "Paycheck" and helped write "Lara Croft Tomb Raider: The Cradle of Life" and the remake of "The Manchurian Candidate." Blah, whatever.
The title characters are played by James Franco and Sophia Myles. Franco played "Harry Osborn" in "Spider-Man" and "Spider-Man 2." He was also in the excellent TV show "Freaks and Geeks." I'm not sure about how I feel about him as an actor. He has talent, but every character he plays seems to be some wounded, brooding type who always has tears in his eyes. As for Sophia Myles, I don't really know much about her except that in "From Hell" she played "Victoria Abberline." She's very good in this movie, and I think she kinda looks like Kate Winslet. Also in the film is Rufus Sewell, who I first saw in "Dark City" (he was also in "The Legend of Zorro" and "A Knight's Tale"). He was a real bright spot in this movie, making it seem better than it really was.
In closing, "Tristan & Isolde" did nothing for me. It was extremely mediocre and seemed completely devoid of any passion, which is pretty sad considering what this movie is about. I'd say it was a chick flick, but I know two girls who saw it, and both agree with me about the film's mediocrity. If there was more sex and violence, I would have liked it more, but the movie needs a lot more than that to truly be a quality film.
Scale of 1-10: 5