I'll tell you why so serious

Film Perfection

This is a must-see and one of the best documentaries - and films - of this year.

This is one of the few movies I've ever seen where the whole audience broke into spontaneous, loud applause a third of the way in.

This film here is Til Schweiger's approach to a Middle Ages comedy. It is one of these rare cases where he did only direct the film without writing it. He got help from two co-directors, including Torsten Künstler with whom he already worked on several movies. And, of course, Schweiger also stars in it. It all comes down to rescuing princess Herzelinde and the ending is of course Schweiger's character and Herzelinde being a couple. The only thing I found kind of amusing is Thomas Gottschalk as the King. Everything else is really not funny, although down to the smallest roles this cast features very well known actors from Germany, as it's usually the case with Schweiger movies. And even the New Kids on the Block give a performance.The humor on this film is mostly based on mixing Middle Ages logic with references to today's modern world. One early example would be a knight tournament with a modern sports broadcast commentator. However, it gets repetitive pretty quickly and quickly isn't funny anymore if it ever has been. Also there is some suggestive humor included here and there with not so great wordplay gently-put. The antagonists are played by Udo Kier and Mark Keller, as we find out later in the film. All in all, it's a disappointing effort, possibly the biggest failure in Schweiger's career. But you can only partially blame him for that. The script was just a huge mess and maybe this movie is one of the main reasons why he has written his own movies afterward again. Also with a running time of almost two hours, it did drag at times. Not recommended.

Well I must say first that lately I've become bored with movies. Kind of an overdose, really, with at least one or two movies a day for the last 3 years. Always the same plots, the same actors, the same styles, the same politically correct and, well, the same everything. So I saw this one thinking that it was going to be the same... again. And boy was I wrong! Of course, there are some "deja vu" things here : the spirit of Shrek, a scene from François Ier with Fernandel, some souvenirs from Princess Bride, some from Kaamelott... But all witty and with good rhythm, and curiously, somehow new. I loved the actors, all unknown to me (though strangely it's been like I've known them forever instantly) but all very good at their part, the casting is outstanding because every character is just so perfectly what you'd expect him/her to be, Lanze wear so seriously his ridiculous hairdo, the Black Knight is so charming, the king so good, the bad one so creepy, the princess so spoiled yet lovable... Anyway, I've spent a very entertaining moment, and I wasn't able to stop before the end, nor did I want to do so, though this has happened to me countless times for other movies lately. It's very well acted, and everything in it just feels right. For me, it's an instant classic. A great and lovable movie, really.

Thanks to Rick Cavanian, Didi Hallervorden and Roberto Blanco 4-5 scenes are remotely funny, the rest of the movie had me cringing with pain due to unfunny jokes and horrific acting. Furthermore the plot has no continuity and failed to generate any suspense. Most chapters are introduced by showing the scenery or close-ups of some plants which isn't a bad thing per se, but these sequences are rather longer than needed. The soundtrack, while good (despite obvious Gladiator and The Dark Knight influences), doesn't seem to be aware of what's going on in the movie, the protagonists are accompanied by happy-go-lucky tunes almost all the time, in peril or not. Don't waste your time with this.

I saw this film yesterday and could not stop laughing, as most of the crowd in the almost sold-out theatre. This is very well made and full of surprises. The cast ist first-rate, especially Tobias Moretti delivers his best performance. You can feel that they had a lot of fun in the making of it. After his mega-success with "Keinohrhasen". Til Schweiger has done it again. Production values are top notch and as good as Hollywood standarts. Cinematography and sound effects are first class. There is even a new song by New Kids on the Block. This Til Schweiger guy really knows how to please his audience. This is also a film for the whole family and for repeated viewings!