Hulu subscribers looking for an escape into a fantastical world can now stream a cult fantasy movie from the early 2000s. The Disney-backed streamer has a surprisingly deep catalog of fantasy films ranging from classics like Labyrinth to more modern critical hits such as Poor Things, and that catalog just grew with the arrival of a 2001 fantasy comedy.
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Hulu subscribers can now stream the 2001 fantasy adventure comedy Black Knight after the Martin Lawrence movie joined the platform on February 1st. The movie, which never got the sequel treatment despite its status as a niche cult favorite, centers around a modern-day employee at the failing Medieval World theme park. After falling into a dirty moat, he wakes in 14th-century England and must use his 21st-century street smarts to survive and help a peasant woman and a disgraced knight overthrow an evil king. Marsha Thomason, Tom Wilkinson, Vincent Regan, and Kevin Conway also star in the movie, which plays out almost like a loose adaptation of Mark Twain’s 1889 novel A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur’s Court.
Black Knight Is a Hilarious Adventure Through 14th-Century England
Black Knight may not be the best comedy or fantasy film, but it’s a solidly entertaining movie packed with slapstick humor and charm. The movie blends medieval history with urban comedy in a comedic culture clash as Lawrence’s Jamal tries to adapt his modern sensibilities when he unexpectedly finds himself navigating a world of knights, damsels, and corrupt royalty. That comedic culture clash is seen in memorable and laugh-out-loud scenes like the moment where Jamal teaches the court modern dance moves and 21st-century slang and the physical comedy gag-laden scene in which he chaotically attempts to ride a horse. Black Knight is nonstop laughter and chaos and really just a silly, lighthearted watch.
The movie’s abysmal 15% critic score and 34% audience rating on Rotten Tomatoes don’t really do it justice and reflect the fact that Black Knight is simply a movie that arrived in the wrong decade and likely would have worked much better had it come out during the peak fish-out-of-water comedy era of the ‘80s and ‘90s. The film has managed to achieve some minor success, as it is now considered a cult fantasy-comedy thanks to its memorable, and often quoted, scenes and overall wacky fantasy premise. And while it is a movie that could have a downright hilarious sequel, that’s unfortunately unlikely to happen.
What’s New on Hulu?
Black Knight was part of a massive wave of fresh titles on Hulu on February 1st. The streamer’s library now also boasts great movies like Django Unchained, both Ghostbusters (1984) and Ghostbusters II, How Stella Got Her Groove Back, Pretty Woman, Sister Act, and 12 Years A Slave. Hulu’s movie lineup will continue to grow throughout February, with Clown in a Cornfield arriving on February 10th, Ghostbusters: Afterlife and Smile on February 16th, and The Astronaut on February 20th.
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