When is a movie loved?! There are several reasons such as acting, plot or even a soundtrack. But what happened here is not only below average, actually it's nothing. -Bad acting and no chemistry at all between Tristan and Isolde -cheesy and cliched story. Forbidden love!! Really, it is a new story that i haven't ever seen in any movie before, and will never see.Boring plot. -No rememberable soundtrack. i always believe that in worst situations a good soundtrack makes the worst cinematic journey acceptable at least. -What makes it worst the historical errors. i can go on counting the reasons why i will never forget this movie, just for making me suffer during 125 min.

A decent enough romance, although stilted and formulaic in places, but I was offended by the historical inversion, portraying the Irish as the imperial bully boys of the era, and the poor hapless Brits as the victims. There may have been one brief period when Irish clans dominated Cornwall, but a casual Wikipedia search didn't find it -- so this novel version inverts f 800 years of history -- the English, not the Irish, raping, plundering and murdering Ireland from medieval times through the genocidal Potato Famine.If you saw a film with vicious jackboot Jews oppressing and murdering peaceful native Germans in the 20th Century, you might ask, "Who made this propaganda flip-flop, Joseph Goebbels?"Well, "Sir" Ridley Scott has been knighted -- I guest that obliges him to defend the glorious Empire with this reverse negative of a film.Yes, Holllywood has always twisted history for dramatic effect. But this version performs a somersault back-flip that leaves the historically ignorant (90% in the U.S., and not much lower elsewhere) with a complete falsification of the larger truth.History and truth that should inform our decisions and futures are more important than to me than dramatic prerogatives -- so 5 stars off.

...Tristan. Sadly the plot was very predictable and that is due not so much for pre-knowledge of the text but more the glut of similarly themed films the past 10 years.Rufus Sewell is excellent as 'Mark' as was the villain Marc StrongI will say in an era of 'feminazis' it is good to see strong male roles and their character shown in times of stress which brings me to FrancoJames Franco sadly does not inspire acceptance as anyone who has 'experienced' life. It's not his fault but he looks more like one of the extras for those Ralph Lauren cologne ads shot on Long Island.Isolde was very believable and she acted like a strong but morally corrupted soul. Franco looks like his real skill is soap operas or as a stand in for Joseph Fiennes - a gigolo.

A splendid retelling of the legendary lovers Princess Isolde of Ireland and Sir Tristan of Cornwall. This version, directed by Kevin Reynolds, is filled with lush imagery straight from medieval epic and romance, complete with towering forests, sturdy warriors, brutal fights and sword play and, of course, a lovely lady loved by two men. One man, the king, has her by right, the other, the king's man, has her heart but can never have her.I came to this movie with almost no knowledge of James Franco, and so brought no Freeks and Geeks, Spiderman, James Dean expectations to his role as Tristan. And his performance is wonderful (yes, critics, you were wrong). He played this role before he became "Franco" the personality and he put his heart and soul into really becoming the character. His English accent is so authentic, I wasn't sure if he were American or British.With very few lines he conveys brilliantly a noble warrior, born to the broadsword, and at the same time an innocent youth just emerged from boyhood. When he tells Isolde there were none before her, we know he is sincere.Sophia Myles, on the other hand, while a competent actress, is completely miscast as Isolde. We're talking Isolde the Most Beautiful Maiden in the Land here. While Sophia Myles has a pleasant face and nice eyes, her small stature and sturdy little figure are that of a pretty peasant girl, not a princess and certainly not a queen. When she tells Tristan she's a lady in waiting at the court, he has no trouble believing her.In spite of that, the love scenes between them sizzle with tender kisses and sensual movement. Shot in very intimate close-up with back lighting, these scenes are the most romantic I've ever seen on film.When Tristan learns that Marke truly loves Isolde we see him, again with almost no dialogue, make up his mind to honour his king and end the affair with Isolde.His death is tragic, yes, but also heroic because he died in defense of the kingdom and loyal to Lord Marke.This is an intensely romantic movie, great date-night fare. It will make you fall in love again.