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A Knight's Tale
Metascore
54 out of 100

Mixed or average reviews - based on 32 Critics

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 16 out of 32
  2. Mixed: 11 out of 32
  3. Negative: 5 out of 32
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  1. Mr. Showbiz
    Reviewed by: Michael Atkinson
    80
    Actually lighter, wittier, and more original than it has a right to be.
  2. Film.com
    Reviewed by: Gemma Files
    80
    What ensues is never exactly unpredictable, but always witty, fresh and fun.
  3. Washington Post
    Reviewed by: Desson Thomson
    80
    Savvy without being smug, cute without being saccharin, and funny without slipping into over-the-top goofiness, this is a 14th-century good time.
  4. New Times (L.A.)
    Reviewed by: Gregory Weinkauf
    80
    Smart, wry and awesome, all at once.
  5. Chicago Sun-Times
    Reviewed by: Roger Ebert
    75
    It's a reminder of the days before films got so cynical and unrelentingly violent. A Knight's Tale is whimsical, silly and romantic.
  6. New York Daily News
    Reviewed by: Jami Bernard
    75
    With its cheerful hailstorm of anachronisms and classic-rock soundtrack, there's nothing medieval about it.
  7. San Francisco Chronicle
    Reviewed by: Bob Graham
    75
    More often than not, it's fun.
  8. Boston Globe
    Reviewed by: Jay Carr
    75
    A Knight's Tale, will either repel you or win you over. It won me over.
  9. Portland Oregonian
    Reviewed by: Kim Morgan
    75
    Though the picture is definitely flawed, it maintains a joie de vivre that's surprisingly refreshing.
  10. Rolling Stone
    Reviewed by: Peter Travers
    70
    It's a dumb summer movie done with smarts.
  11. Slate
    Reviewed by: David Edelstein
    70
    Simply a jolly good (k)night out.
  12. Wall Street Journal
    Reviewed by: Joe Morgenstern
    70
    A Knight's Tale wasn't made for people like me. It was made for the kids of summer.
    All this critic's reviews
  13. Washington Post
    Reviewed by: Rita Kempley
    70
    The action scenes are beautifully mounted and photographed and offer a sense of the rigors of the sport.
  14. Chicago Tribune
    Reviewed by: Robert K. Elder
    63
    There's much to love about this "Rocky" on horseback, and those laughable blemishes just fold into jokes that Helgeland likely intends audiences to laugh at.
  15. Christian Science Monitor
    Reviewed by: David Sterritt
    63
    Fine family entertainment.
  16. Philadelphia Inquirer
    Reviewed by: Carrie Rickey
    63
    A bewildering but never boring yarn.
    All this critic's reviews
  17. The New York Times
    Reviewed by: A.O. Scott
    60
    The picture itself is good-humored, but bland and predictable. It's a cross between an All-American vaudevillian version of "Shakespeare in Love" and Mel Brooks's "Robin Hood: Men in Tights."
  18. Time
    Reviewed by: Richard Schickel
    60
    The result is half Python, half Ivanhoe--and not as much fun as either.
  19. Chicago Reader
    Reviewed by: Lisa Alspector
    60
    Would be sweeter if the fair maiden weren't such a pill and more exciting if the villain weren't quite so nasty.
  20. Entertainment Weekly
    Reviewed by: Lisa Schwarzbaum
    58
    Laddish, one joke, genre scrambling rock & roll fairy tale.
  21. USA Today
    Reviewed by: Susan Wloszczyna
    50
    From the moment he trudges through the woods in his scratched and smudged birthday suit, Paul Bettany as a saucy Geoffrey Chaucer takes command.
  22. TV Guide
    Reviewed by: Maitland McDonagh
    50
    This brazen mix of old and new is undermined by the predictable story, shallow characterizations and a dopey sense of humor.
  23. New York Magazine (Vulture)
    Reviewed by: Peter Rainer
    50
    For all its hipness, the movie serves up some awfully old chestnuts.
  24. Los Angeles Times
    Reviewed by: Kenneth Turan
    50
    As advertised, A Knight's Tale does try to rock you. The problem is, it doesn't rock you nearly enough.
  25. Salon.com
    Reviewed by: Stephanie Zacharek
    40
    Works neither as an exuberant rock 'n' roll picture nor as a heroic fable. It will rock you --straight to sleep.
  26. Village Voice
    Reviewed by: Ed Park
    40
    At best harmless, if not quite fun.
  27. Newsweek
    Reviewed by: David Ansen
    40
    Maybe you have to be 14 to find all of this terribly clever.
    All this critic's reviews
  28. Baltimore Sun
    Reviewed by: Michael Sragow
    38
    The result is as flat as a year-old beer commercial.
  29. Variety
    Reviewed by: Todd McCarthy
    30
    Traditionalists and older viewers in general will scoff, while pop culture addicts will no doubt go with the flow.
  30. Miami Herald
    Reviewed by: Rene Rodriguez
    25
    A Middle Ages "Rocky" that spares no cliche in its unduly long, 2 1/4 hours.
    All this critic's reviews
  31. Seattle Post-Intelligencer
    Reviewed by: William Arnold
    25
    The film's one saving grace is Ledger (Mel Gibson's son in "The Patriot").
  32. L.A. Weekly
    Reviewed by: Ella Taylor
    20
    The skits are dreadful, the jokes suck.
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User Reviews

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User Score
7.5 out of 10

Generally favorable reviews- based on 62 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 22 out of 26
  2. Mixed: 0 out of 26
  3. Negative: 4 out of 26
  1. MrCinnamon
    8
    This film was a fantastic example of originality. The story was a very ingenious take on the tale from Geoffrey Chaucer, and bringing him into the story was a grand gamble. The scenes of jousting are top notch cinemetography, and the script is witty. A great comedy, well worth watching.… Full Review »
  2. MovieLonely94
    7
    not excellent, but perfect and very hilarious
  3. LordOFlibertY
    8
    cool, comedic film I think this is by favourite Ledger movie with the exception of Dark Knight also I became of Bettany
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