Tristan and Isolde

I went to see this movie expecting a chick flick, but instead got a very good combination of romance/attempt at an epic. The action scenes were a bit choppy (kind of like the Bourne Supremacy) and the storyline was actually quite quite good. Surprisingly good. The worst thing in this movie to me was James Franco. He just didn't fit into this role, and his acting was a bit one dimensional. It was like I was seeing Hayden Christenson in SW Ep.2. Another thing that bothered me a bit was the fact that the accents in this movie were not at all consistent. The "british" people randomly spoke american english and then suddenly the same characters developed an accent and then lost it again. Very awkward. In spite of this, it was a very enjoyable movie. The best i've seen so far this year

7.6/10

How was Sophia Myles' performance?

She was great and easily made up for what James Franco was missing The fact that she's incredibly stunning doesnt hurt either In regards to acting, I think that she was 2nd best in the movie, after Rufus Sewell who fit his role perfectly although he's a bit scary.

I've also had a good year with movies so far as well

What did you think about James Franco?

He wasn't noticeable enough to distract me from enjoying the movie...

"Before Romeo & Juliet, there was... TRISTAN & ISOLDE" reads this film's poster. It's a statement which causes high expectations as comparing a film to a staple of classic literature tends to do. The film stars James Franco (SPIDER-MAN 2) as Tristan and Sophia Myles (UNDERWORLD) as Isolde. The pair live in Western Europe after the Roman civilization has crumbled leaving Ireland to war with the various English tribes. Born into this world are the titular lovers - he's a noble English knight who was raised by one of nation's tribal leaders (Rufus Sewell, THE LEGEND OF ZORRO) after his parents died at the hands of Irish warriors, she's the beautiful and intelligent daughter of Ireland's volatile king (David O'Hara, HOTEL RWANDA). The two find each other through a series of misadventures, but the love which evolves between them threatens their entire existence and forces both to confront their pasts, their futures, and their beliefs.

TRISTAN & ISOLDE's equal parts romance, action, and drama, but the overall theme is relationships - between nations, between soldiers at war, between parents and their children, between friends and siblings, and, most of all, between lovers. The film's directed by one of the studio system's more reliable men, Kevin Reynolds, best known for two Kevin Costner films, the popular ROBIN HOOD: PRINCES OF THIEVES and the infamous (but successful) WATERWORLD, and the Alexandre Dumas adaptation THE COUNT OF MONTE CRISTO with Jim Caviezel, Guy Pearce, and the late Richard Harris. Reynolds is a director whose best in his element and his element is period action films with castle sieges, knights in wartorn armor, and passionate lovers who overcome huge obstacles to be with one another. So, his fit with TRISTAN & ISOLDE's themes is a snug one and Reynolds, filming a script by Dean Georgaris (who wrote the smarter-than-expected redo of THE MANCHURIAN CANDIDATE with Denzel Washington and Meryl Streep), doesn't disappoint, delivering a film as thrilling and dramatic as it is romantic and moving.

Shot by Artur Reinhart ("Children Of Dune"), TRISTAN & ISOLDE is a masterful epic of visuals. The depiction of England and Ireland, nations of overgrown ruins, dense and wet forests, and overcast skies, is spellbinding. Reinhart imbues the world Tristan and Isolde lived and loved in with a sense of foreboding menace and aged wonders. Reynolds and Reinhart also do a wonderful job of depicting the chaotic and unforgiving nature of period warfare. In fact, this film's "PG-13"-rating aids it in creating tense war scenes. In other recent period war epics, such as KINGDOM OF HEAVEN (from this film's producer, Ridley Scott), the director has thrown in excessive and brutal gore in hopes moviegoers, distracted by split-open heads, torn-open stomaches, and lost limbs, ignore the interminable editing, unclear camera movements, and emotional investment-deficit. Here, unallowed to have Tristan cut his opponent's organs out, the director and his artistic team show a fascination with the battle movements and weapons and a dedication to having the audience care for the warriors before the battle erupts. A similar logic applies to the sex scenes, which don't feature shots of nude men or women, but are nonetheless arousing and, often, red-hot and romantic. The sole flaw in Reynold's handling is his distant and miscalculated depiction of the final moment between the two heroic lovers, a disappointment since the scene seems moving and powerful below Reynold's unfocused and unemotional creation of it.

The cast, overflowing with rising stars and established character actors, is strong and the peformances follow suit. Franco is not the world's best actor and tends to find one emotion (be it furious anger, gleeful happiness, or harrowed fear) and perform variations of it throughout, but, as Tristan, he shows a dramatic tension and complex understanding of the human spirit not evident in the rest of his films. Myles is superior, though, and steals the film from her co-stars. Myles' beautiful in a classic way and delivers a spirited, energetic performance as Isolde. As Tristan's friend and Isolde's eventual wife, Rufus Sewell is for once allowed to play a sympathetic character rather than a villian and does a great job of it, managing to be lovable even as we root against his character at times. The one disappointing performance is given by David O'Hara as the cruel and power-loving king of Ireland (and Isolde's uncaring and cold father). Villians should be played as silent menaces or loud explosions of evil, but O'Hara's idea of playing one as a quiet, passive bastard just isn't a success. In fact, he's so passive at times I half expected him to approach a commander and say "My friend, I was... wondering if, you know, we might go to war soon. If you don't mind, you know" with his head down. Not menacing or interesting at all.

Overall, TRISTAN & ISOLDE is 2006's first great film. There are flaws to be sure which restrain it from joining the best of the best in the historical epic genre, but it remains an above-par production with fine performances and even finer style. I recommend it to everyone, from children to senior citizens. It's a universal thrill.

A-

Long, boring, and predictable. Minus, like, one potentially good scene and a decent performance from Sophia Myles, the film is almost unbearable to watch. James Franco was awful.

D+

The worst movie I've seen since The Honeymooners.

Why would you two even bother seeing this?

I thought it'd be a decent alternative to math homework...

At least I saw it on DVD, though.

May God have mercy on your soul, Gunslinger.

Remind me never to allow the wifey to pick a movie again.
D

Could've been worse, I'll admit, but it also could have been MUCH, MUCH better. Poor Jimmy Franco...WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING!?!??!?

Clearly they didn't have a lot of money to play with and it shows in the edges of the film. It just feels a little empty in places, and the editing didn't make the PG-13 action scenes any more dramatic. It was still a very good stab at a heart-felt, researched production on a shoestring. The costumes above all else were wonderfully realized.

I didn't find the lead characters to be awful. I thought Franco fared a little better than Myles. Both got kind of stuck in one dimensional roles to an extent. This film shouldn't be an embarrassment to either of them. The stand out here is Rufus Sewell, who's King Marke is emotionaly complex, adult and remains unstereotypical.

The fact that they cut out the love potion is a good thing. In realizing a "legend" or a "myth" one must take care in getting over the magical hump that takes place about 20 minutes in where Tristan is poisoned, left for dead, put on the death boat, pelted with flaming arrows, then winds up on the beach where the Irish Princess is strolling, who knows herbs and can heal him of his wounds. I thought the director and the writers did about as well as anybody getting through this section with the film still intact.

The supporting characters don't fare as well. Everyone outside of Franco, Myles and Sewell is absolutely awful, especially the Irish King and Tristan's "brother", who has the worst dialog, is developed incredibly poorly, and is dumber than a rock.

I have two big problems with the film. The first is the fact that it's 15 hours long. The second is the love story. I felt absolutely nothing for them and that's thanks to James Franco and Sophia Myles. They're performances aren't bad, there just isn't any chemistry between the two.

On the plus side, minus a couple of unintentional laughs, I thought the action sequences were well done. I also thought Rfus Sewell was very good.

Ultimately it's the running length and the chemistry between Franco and Myles that bring the movie down.

C