'Tristan & Isolde' is epically bad
by John DeFore
Actor James Franco is a chiseled, good-looking dude who, after doing a fantastic job as the irresistible bad kid in the high-school TV series "Freaks & Geeks," was a credible candidate to star in a James Dean film bio. In the "Spider-Man" franchise, he's fine as a sullen rich kid whose late pop was Spidey's nemesis. But as anyone who saw last year's "The Great Raid" can confirm, Franco has a way to go before audiences will believe him as a leader of men. In "Tristan & Isolde," we're asked to accept him as the No. 2 man in a medieval movement to gather the tribes of England into one mighty nation. Good luck with that, kid.
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In the medieval legend of Tristan and Isolde, young lovers become doomed against the forces of royal politics. English knight Tristan wins the hand of the daughter of the Irish King, but the love threatens the truce between their two countries.
Twentieth Century Fox
'Tristan & Isolde'
Director: Kevin Reynolds
Starring: James Franco, Sophia Myles, Rufus Sewell, David O'Hara, Mark Strong
Run time: 126 minutes
Release date: Jan. 13, 2006
Rating: PG-13 for intense battle sequences and some sexuality.
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The Atlanta Journal-Constitution: C
"...just a pretty valentine with no real heart."
Austin American-Statesman: 1 of 5 stars
"Franco flounders. Knowing his lines but incapable of projecting them credibly, he skulks around like a Tiger Beat pinup transplanted to Camelot."
The Palm Beach Post: B
"It is easy to see why this tale has endured for centuries."
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