Rufus Sewell: 70%, James Purefoy: 20% and Paul Bettany: 70%

A jousting action adventure, with a soundtrack featuring Queen and David Bowie? Forsooth, sirrah! The premise for this extravanganza looketh a mite skewed. Happily A Knight's Tale is no Man in the Iron Mask. Well, the history is a little dodgy but frankly it's such a great frolic that you don't really care.

For the Blueshirt Tailors, our cup runneth over in this film and we've spent many a happy hour arguing who would be our preferred Lancelot. Rufus Sewell's undoubted talents aren't given full rein (unintentional pun - sorry). All he needed was a twirly moustache and a few "I'll have you my beauty!" utterances to really complete the Evil Villain role. But hey! He looks hot in his armour and that's the main thing.

James Purefoy only really makes a couple of cameo appearances, but manages a few gorgeous swoon-inducing looks. And he's in armour too! The absolute star though is Paul Bettany as a young Chaucer. Now I studied Middle English and I'm sure ol' Geoff would have been a lot more interesting if he was anything like Paul's portrayal. He's such a joy to watch that you're waiting for him to get back on the screen, and he's obviously having a blast! NB Paul doesn't wear armour, but he still looks fab.

The only thing that spoilt the film for me was that the leading lady. To quote Austen "I am sorry to be hard on any of our sex", but the girl virtually had a monobrow. Her outfits were incredibly awful - a bishop's mitre hat? a brimed hat with feathers in the 14th century? hello?! - and she had all the acting talent of a tomato. At least when she's on-screen, Heath Ledger is usually around to distract you. Why he doesn't go for the female blacksmith is beyond me*.

You must see this film. There's enough violence and fighting to keep any boyfriends happy while you drool. And you will, as the Blueshirters will rock you!

Reviewed by Oscarina, Blueshirt Tailor