Justin and the Knights of Valour Reviews

I wasn't expecting much from this flick but, somehow, I still ended up watching the damned thing. First of all, I was surprised that it was actually a Spanish movie produced by Antonio Banderas but, even though it was an honourable attempt, to be honest, it wasn't really good, I'm afraid. I mean, I have to admit it, for a CGI animated feature produced in Europe, the animation was actually not bad at all but that was pretty much the only positive thing about this movie. Indeed, above all, the main issue was that the story was just so boring and generic and, to make things worse, the main character was even rather pathetic. Of course, I understand that the whole thing was basically about an average boy dreaming to become a knight but they could have chosen someone slightly more charismatic. Coming back to the story itself, as I said before, it was just really generic and most of it was pretty much lifted from some far superior movies. Furthermore, the whole message that you should rather have some knights instead of lawyers was rather misguided in my opinion. Anyway, to conclude, in the over-crowded market of the CGI animation, it was another rather weak effort and I don't think it is really worth a look.  

This movie is clearly underrated. It has an amazing voice cast and the animation isn't bad for something you probably didn't even realize existed. This movie is presented by Antonio Banderas who is finally making a return to film after a long hiatus. He also plays a bit part in this as a wannabe knight.

The characters are pretty interesting and have some quirks to them. The voice actors who play them are some really amazing choices which include James Cosmo, Charles Dance, Freddie Highmore, Saoirse Ronan, Rupert Everett, Olivia Williams, and Mark Strong as you guessed it the villain. There is even an adorable fat alligator forced to be pretend to be something it isn't.

There are some pretty cool fight scenes. There is a good amount of comedy mixed with a coming of age sort of story. I personally thought this was really enjoyable. At least good for a one time watch as a family or good for kids to enjoy when Mom and Dad have to work. Although some of it can be a little tense. I guess it depends on the parent really. Anyways check it out for yourself. Reviews are here as suggestions not guidelines.