Jousting to "Takin' Care of Business?"

"A Knight's Tale" is fun. It has that "poor kid does good" theme running throughout and can be very heroic and sentimental at times. But don't expect this flick to blow you away. It is very good, and quite unique, but the overall story is rather standard as far as knight stories go.

Heath Ledger is perfect as the young hero of this tale. He has a group of bumbling sidekicks, including Geoffrey Chaucer, that support him throughout the movie. There's a love interest, who I really never felt fit the rest of the cast. Then, of course, there's a great villain, who I felt was only there to fill the need of having a villain.

The real story is about Ledger's character becoming something he isn't allowed to be by the standards of the day. It shows how a hero is measured not by his nobility or rank, but by his heart. Along the way, Ledger's sidekicks provide comic relief and the action in the jousting competitions is great.

Overall, a solid movie that only has a couple of holes in it. The villain isn't really that necessary, and the love interest, Joycelyn, is out of whack with the overall feel of this movie.

Rent it before you decide to buy it. I bought it and I don't feel robbed. However, I do think that the story could have been a little better had the villain's role been meated out better.