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As I've heard said about other historical dramas, Knightfall is fine as long as you're aware that nothing you're seeing has any basis in reality.
As many other commenters have observed, there are so many historical inaccuracies here that "historical" doesn't really apply. Every major character is wrong in some sense. Joan and Boniface were dead, Isabel was 11, Landry wasn't master, and Philip wasn't the boob portrayed. The Holy Grail wasn't part of this, Catalonia wasn't a kingdom, etc. etc. Having a small group of Templars pursuing the Grail at the time of their fall could have worked, but not working in all the real people.
More distressing though is the modern, cultural lens they put on the unreality. The queen of France is having an affair with the Temple master (monk), who happens to be best buds with the king? The princess is a teenage twit whose affections shift from love at first site so deep that it can overwhelm the national strategy, but then can murder him because she thinks he revealed they had sex? And back again? A novice knight entranced by a Jewish ingénue? A female Asian super-ninja who can easily outfight any knight? A secretive group of Muslims who understand the Grail better than Christians and thus end up fighting with them? A mysterious older female who seems to have all the answers and fires a crossbow better than a warrior? A girl-power queen who will leave the king to found her own realm by killing her rival (right when the rival is reconciling) and thus be welcomed by the rivals troops - all while very pregnant? A scheming pope behind it all? (Okay, popes were schemers - but didn't hang around Paris to do so.) Since no one seems to have core beliefs, anyone can do anything resulting in surprises to the viewer that come off surprise for the sake of surprise. (How many times is some key information about to be obtained right before the keeper is killed.? All this smacks of the worst of melodramas leavened with enough juicy parts to attract every viewer dynamic. History Channel (cough, cough) is saying "History? You can't handle history!". In this regard, it's very similar to "Sons of Liberty" a few years back.
The acting is mixed. Tom Cullen is great, in a role that requires a lot of nuance to remain believable. The Templars do pretty well, as does the Pope. The royals are wooden. Most others are stereotypes or caricatures. The weaponry and costumes are good, as are the sets given realistic budgetary restrictions.
Get from it what you will. Per the series' timeline, the historical fall of the Templars is only months/weeks away. Maybe a continuing series about a small set of Templars trying to save the Grail from any and all comers would work better. They might even end up on Oak Island.
score 2/10
SeamusMacDuff 3 February 2018
Reprint: https://www.imdb.com/review/rw4051765/ |
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22-11-2019 07:33:08
