movie film review | chris tookey
 
     
     
 

Justin and the Knights of Valour

 (PG)
© Unknown - all rights reserved
     
  Justin and the Knights of Valour Review
Tookey's Rating
1 /10
 
Average Rating
3.00 /10
 
Starring
Freddie Highmore, Saiorse Ronan, Alfred Molina
Full Cast >
 

Directed by: Manuel Sicilia
Written by: Matthew Jacobs

 
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Released: 2013
   
Genre: ADVENTURE
ANIMATION
FAMILY
   
Origin: Spain
   
Colour: C
   
Length: 96
 
 


 
A myth-take.
Reviewed by Chris Tookey



From the poster and the quality of its voice-over stars, I was hoping this would be good family entertainment. It isn’t.

The script gets off to a poor start by positing a mediaeval kingdom where knights have been banished in favour of the rule of law. According to the film, the rule of law is a bad thing: a view which parents may consider strange to be teaching impressionable young children.

Our young, red-haired hero Justin (voiced by Freddie Highmore) especially dislikes the rule of law, since he doesn’t wish to be a lawyer like his father (Alfred Molina) and would much rather be a knight in order to impress the local, vain, silly princess (Tamsin Egerton).

Matthew Jacobs’ awful screenplay fails to notice that his hero is a twerp. The film that follows is low on adventure and weirdly lacking in structure, tension and surprise.

The attempts at humour are crass and unfunny. David Walliams is excruciatingly lame as a schizophrenic magician, Rupert Everett an embarrassment as a flamboyantly gay knight. Even Antonio Banderas is off-form as a macho Spanish knight who isn’t a patch on his Puss in Boots.

The storyline limps turgidly onwards as Justin learns to become a knight under the tutelage of three aged knights (Charles Dance, Barry Humphries and James Cosmo) and overcomes the underwritten villain of the piece - Mark Strong, never worse.

It’s all terribly weak and unthrilling. Heaven knows how this screenplay ever got made. The Spanish animators are uninspired, and haven’t a clue how to make the most of 3D. This is easily the dreariest animated film of the year. Even The Smurfs 2 had more ideas and vitality.


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