Lancelot: Guardian of Time

Encountered this one insomniac night on HBO, really just looking for something to fall asleep to.

It wasn't good for that, as it kept on engaging my attention. Partly it was the cast; Katherine, the female lead, was played by the actress who played Ivanova on "Babylon 5," and I've always liked her; Sir Lancelot was played by the actor who was Dar in the "Beastmaster" movies -- he was always fun, and is so here as well. But more, it's the quirky plot and the movie's concept, which is that maybe gallantry and just plain being the good guys ought to be given another chance; sort of the Susan Faludi who's saying that men need a break meets, well, Sir Lancelot.

The movie would seem a likely candidate for being the kind of live-action cartoon that, say, "Xena" amounts to, but always edges away from that. Lancelot is played with a strangely compelling dignity that draws one's attention (and makes one think that possibly there's still a future for the actor), and the young Arthur is appropriately clueless in the "Once and Future King" mode. The interaction of the medieval characters with the Twentieth Century is not particularly well investigated, but some decent moments come from it.

Overall, a fun way to spend a couple of hours, albeit that it's understandable that the Academy overlooked this movie. Give it a try.