Tristan & Isolde
Tristan & Isolde - ★★★☆
Directed by Kevin Reynolds, this timeless medieval tale follows Tristan (James Franco) and Isolde (Sophia Myles), star-crossed lovers doomed by the forces of imperial politics. When gallant English knight Tristan wins the love of beautiful Isolde -- the daughter of the Irish king (David O'Hara) -- their liaison threatens to destroy the uneasy truce between their two nations. Rufus Sewell plays English warlord Lord Marke.---
Stupid imperialistic English! You just got through being ruled by the Romans. Barely a moment passes and you're like "Let's go take Ireland! Arrrr!" So, instantly, I disliked the main protagonist. But I got over that because not only are the Irish particularly nasty in this movie, but Lord Marke, well, he's just a good person. Even after all that happens to him during the course of the movie. Poor guy. If he would just get some better friends... ANYWAY, so Tristan. Jason made the comment that I should imagine James Franco with black hair and white skin. Yea, he could totally be Morpheus. He had the brooding thing down pat in this movie. But who could blame him? He watched his parents die and was almost killed himself. Then he was killed and put on a boat and promptly set on fire. Then he surfaces somewhere on a sandy beach in Ireland. Wait, Ireland has sandy beaches?? o.O Luckily, he's found by a beautiful Irish princess who he can never be with because they are enemies. Instead he has to watch her marry the man who is his father-figure. Talk about reasons to be moody!
I usually like period movies, and this was no exception. I don't get all obsessed about the details like some do, though. There were a lot of complaints on IMDB about the inaccuracies seen in the movie. People! It's not a big deal, really. So what if someone ate with a fork or killed a rabbit (which wasn't supposed to have existed in the place it was found)? So what if the castle was in the wrong place and done in the wrong style? These people must have thought the story was really bad to be so focused on all these other details. I thought it was brilliant. An awful lot of bloodshed for a romance though. I would have enjoyed a bit more buildup in the romance department. I am a girl, after all.