A very strange film. It's main worth being to illustrate to those who make films that, despite having a enviable amount of talent, a recognised composer, a director with previous reputation, access to great locations and some significant budget a real turkey can still result. A look at the cast list reveals a true wealth of acting talent. From Helen Mirren, Gabriel Byrne and Brian Cox to Andy Serkis and Christian Bale. But with many others of note including Mark Williams, Tom Wilkinson, Tony Haygarth, Saskia Wickham, Ewen Bremner, Brian Glover, Kate Beckinsale and Freddie Jones one can be excused from buying the DVD in the belief that 'it can't be that bad with all these in it'. It can. It's worse. Plodding pace, clunky direction, a dreadfully incongruous musical score and some really woeful dialogue. The battle scenes, at best, resemble a poor historical re-enactment. Oh, and there's a man in a bear suit! It's reminiscent of an early 70's ITV drama but with better acting. Nobody acts badly, in fact some of Christian Bale's performance shows his promise, but the question should be asked of those who can so indisputably act 'why are you acting in this?' All in all you will find it a waste of time to watch it. You know the basic story anyway, so there's little to learn - unless you're studying media, especially with a view to entering the world of film making, then it may be truly of value to you.
Review of Royal Deceit
