1½ Knights - In Search of the Ravishing Princess Herzelinde (2008)

While it doesn't offer any answers, it both thrills and makes you think.

The thing I enjoyed most about the film is the fact that it doesn't shy away from being a super-sized-cliche;

Let me be very fair here, this is not the best movie in my opinion. But, this movie is fun, it has purpose and is very enjoyable to watch.

I enjoyed watching this film and would recommend other to give it a try , (as I am) but this movie, although enjoyable to watch due to the better than average acting fails to add anything new to its storyline that is all too familiar to these types of movies.

This film here is Til Schweiger's approach to a Middle Ages comedy. It is one of these rare cases where he did only direct the film without writing it. He got help from two co-directors, including Torsten Künstler with whom he already worked on several movies. And, of course, Schweiger also stars in it. It all comes down to rescuing princess Herzelinde and the ending is of course Schweiger's character and Herzelinde being a couple. The only thing I found kind of amusing is Thomas Gottschalk as the King. Everything else is really not funny, although down to the smallest roles this cast features very well known actors from Germany, as it's usually the case with Schweiger movies. And even the New Kids on the Block give a performance.The humor on this film is mostly based on mixing Middle Ages logic with references to today's modern world. One early example would be a knight tournament with a modern sports broadcast commentator. However, it gets repetitive pretty quickly and quickly isn't funny anymore if it ever has been. Also there is some suggestive humor included here and there with not so great wordplay gently-put. The antagonists are played by Udo Kier and Mark Keller, as we find out later in the film. All in all, it's a disappointing effort, possibly the biggest failure in Schweiger's career. But you can only partially blame him for that. The script was just a huge mess and maybe this movie is one of the main reasons why he has written his own movies afterward again. Also with a running time of almost two hours, it did drag at times. Not recommended.

Til Schweiger's performance was an absolute tragedy. Whereas Thomas Gottschalk was surprisingly good (for those who remember him in the "Supernasen"-moviews), Rick Kavanian as Erdal was very funny and Udo Kier creepy as always. On the pro side are the sets, costumes and the score. Those have international standard. The story is incredibly boring and many (no, almost all) jokes drain. What I personally found absolutely disgusting, was the fact that father and (15 year old) son were cast as homosexual lovers...just ugh! Overall, the movie was very disappointing. Especially after Til Schweiger's hilarious "Keinohrhasen".

This Movie tries to tell the story of Lanze who is in love with the princess. One day the princess is kidnapped by the Dark Knight and Lanze starts his journey to rescue her. But he is not alone because Erdal, a turk, joins him on his journey.This movie is not funny. OK maybe one part with Roberto Blanco but thats it. Screenedit is worst and you cant find any serial red line throw the story to follow the content. The jokes aren't good and the acting is also miserable. This movie is like a mix of Craig Mazins "Superhero Movie" and Brian Helgelands "A Knight's Tale" with typical German influences. Kind of Slapstick comedy without the comedy (like Superhero Movie).Summary : 1 1/2 hours waste of time 3/10

I saw this film yesterday and could not stop laughing, as most of the crowd in the almost sold-out theatre. This is very well made and full of surprises. The cast ist first-rate, especially Tobias Moretti delivers his best performance. You can feel that they had a lot of fun in the making of it. After his mega-success with "Keinohrhasen". Til Schweiger has done it again. Production values are top notch and as good as Hollywood standarts. Cinematography and sound effects are first class. There is even a new song by New Kids on the Block. This Til Schweiger guy really knows how to please his audience. This is also a film for the whole family and for repeated viewings!