A Knight's TaleMovie Reviews

Poster art for "A Knight's Tale."

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So-so
Avg. Critic Score: 54 out of 100 Mixed or average reviews Metascore® based on all critic reviews
Information for Parents:
12 OK for kids 12+
Read Common Sense Media review

Critic scores range from 0 to 100, with higher scores indicating more favorable reviews.

  • 80
    Washington Post | Desson Thomson

    Savvy without being smug, cute without being saccharin, and funny without slipping into over-the-top goofiness, this is a 14th-century good time. Read full review

  • 75
    San Francisco Chronicle | Bob Graham

    More often than not, it's fun. Read full review

  • 75
    Chicago Sun-Times | Roger Ebert

    It's a reminder of the days before films got so cynical and unrelentingly violent. A Knight's Tale is whimsical, silly and romantic. Read full review

  • 70
    Rolling Stone | Peter Travers

    It's a dumb summer movie done with smarts. Read full review

  • 70
    Washington Post | Rita Kempley

    The action scenes are beautifully mounted and photographed and offer a sense of the rigors of the sport. Read full review

  • 60
    The New York Times | A.O. Scott

    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." Read full review

  • 58
    Entertainment Weekly | Lisa Schwarzbaum

    Laddish, one joke, genre scrambling rock & roll fairy tale. Read full review

  • 50
    USA Today | Susan Wloszczyna

    From the moment he trudges through the woods in his scratched and smudged birthday suit, Paul Bettany as a saucy Geoffrey Chaucer takes command. Read full review

  • 50
    Los Angeles Times | Kenneth Turan

    As advertised, A Knight's Tale does try to rock you. The problem is, it doesn't rock you nearly enough. Read full review

  • 30
    Variety | Todd McCarthy

    Traditionalists and older viewers in general will scoff, while pop culture addicts will no doubt go with the flow. Read full review

View more reviews for A Knight's Tale on Metacritic

Information for Parents
Common Sense Media says OK for kids 12+ Slightly edgy medieval tale with rock music.
What Parents Need to Know Parents need to know that this movie is very violent, with a lot of shattered lances and battered combatants, but little gore. There is some strong language and a mild sexual situation.
  • Families can talk about the pros and cons of the use of anachronisms (Wat says, "It's a lance? hel--LO!") to tell this story, and about the loyalty shown by William, Jocelyn, Roland, Wat, and Geoffrey (and Coville) to each other. They should also talk about why Adhemar was willing to do anything to win and how he would have felt if he had been successful. Why does the Prince want to compete without letting anyone know who he is? Why was it important for William to allow Coville to lose with honor? And families should discuss Jocelyn's order to William that he lose to prove his love for her, and whether that was fair or kind. Take a look at Leigh Hunt's poem, "The Glove and the Lions" at for a similar story that concludes, "No love," quoth he, "but vanity sets love a task like that." They might want to take a look at a modernized version of "The Pardoner's Tale" to see if Geoffrey Chaucer kept his word and got his revenge.
The good stuff
  • message true2 Positive messages: William defies the class system to compete as a knight.
What to watch for
  • violence false2 Violence: Lots of jousting and sword-fighting violence, not too graphic.
  • sex false3 Sex: Mild sexual situation, brief non-sexual nudity.
  • language false3 Language: Some strong language.
  • consumerism false0 Consumerism: Not an issue
  • drugsalcoholtobacco false2 Drinking, drugs and smoking: Drinking.
An independent nonprofit dedicated to providing families the information they need to help kids thrive in a world of media and technology. © Common Sense Media Inc. 2010. All rights reserved.

A Knight's Tale Movie Ratings + Reviews

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So-so See all critic reviews

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