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Cast: Antonio Banderas, James cosmo, Rupert Everett, Freddie Highmore, Saoirse Ronan
JUSTIN lives in a kingdom where bureaucrats rule and knights have been ousted. His dream is to become one of the Knights of Valor, like his grandfather was, but his father REGINALD, the chief counsel to the QUEEN, wants his son to follow in his footsteps and become a lawyer. After an inspiring visit to his beloved GRANDMOTHER and bidding farewell to his supposed lady-love LARA, JUSTIN leaves home and embarks on a quest to become a knight. Along the way he meets the beautiful, feisty TALIA, a quirky wizard called MELQUIADES, the handsome SIR CLOREX and is mentored by three monks; BLUCHER, LEGANTIR and BRAULIO, who teach and test him in the ancient ways of the Knights of Valor. Whilst an unlikely candidate for knighthood, JUSTIN must rise to the challenge quickly when banished former knight SIR HERACLIO and his army, lead by SOTA, return and threaten to destroy the Kingdom.
After watching the film I wondered why it did not get a bit more of a release because it was well made and fun to watch. It tells the story of Justin, a young boy who is closing in on manhood and he wants to become a knight rather than follow in his father's footsteps as a lawyer. His father is not happy with his decision and dismisses it but Justin's grandma tells him to follow his heart so he sets out to train for knighthood. Justin does not know but banished former knight Sir Heraclio is back and he has formed an army to take over the kingdom. Now the young boy must rise up and become the man and knight he dreams of being in order to save the kingdom and win the girl.
"Justin and The Knights of Valor" was a much better movie than I expected it to be but first let me be clear when I say that you cannot go into this thinking you are going to see animation done by Disney or Pixar because this is not on that level but I thought the animation was very good and well above average. The story is not anything new either, instead it is a classic tale that we all have seen over and over again but I was fine with that as well because it was done in a fun way.
The film is about a boy becoming a man but it is also about believing in yourself, loyalty and even a bit of love. The film is colorful, lively and exciting, it is also funny and it is full of wonderful characters to love and hate.
Another thing that makes the film so enjoyable is the cast of voice actors which includes, Antonio Banderas, Rupert Everett, James Cosmo, Freddie Highmore and Saoirse Ronan. Each and everyone did a terrific job bringing their characters to life.
"Justin and The Knights of Valour" is a film that is geared towards children but adults will enjoy watching Justin as he journeys on his quest as well. This makes for some quality family time together which is something that seems to be rare nowadays which is why I give it such a high rating. If you have children or are just a child at heart I recommend adding it to your collection. A pleasant surprise that I really enjoyed.
Available on DVD and Blu-ray with Special Features that include:
The Making Of
Trailer
You can order the DVD HERE and the Blu-ray HERE.
Released by ARC Entertainment
**** Out Of *****