First, a confession: I did not like the Michael Crichton novel on which this film was based. I knew enough about medieval history for Crichton's historical howlers to ruin it for me. For someone who so strutted his research, it was shocking how much the author "knew" that just wasn't so.<br /><br />Even so, I could never resist any film with a medieval time travel premise, so I watched it. <br /><br />Look. Even if you like the book, even if you think 14th century Frenchmen spoke modern French, even if you think 14th century English nobles spoke any kind of English at all; even if you can accept social customs, military tactics and critical architectural details that don't belong there OR then; this is just plain a slow, confused, predictable movie. <br /><br />It's not that it's unwatchable. Billy Connolly and Frances O'Connor in particular give delightful performances with the material they have, but their talents are squandered. Save your time and (if you're considering a rental) money.