THE KING'S GUARD (2000)
Review by Helen Chavez
Trevor St John (Captain Reynolds), Ashley Jones (Princess Gwendolyn), Lesley-Anne Down (Queen Beatrice),
Ron Perlman (Lord Morton), Eric Roberts (Augustus Talbert)Plot Summary
Queen Beatrice (Lesley-Anne Down) asks young and debonair Captain Reynolds (Trevor St John) of the King’s Guard to escort her daughter, the haughty but beautiful Princess Gwendolyn (Ashley Jones) to the kingdom of her husband-to-be, a young Sarsanian prince.
Unfortunately, the evil and brutal Lord Morton (Ron Perlman) discovers that they are also escorting the princess’ dowry, and he determines to steal it for himself. Among his gang of cut-throats and vagabonds is the renegade King’s Guardsman Augustus Talbert (Eric Roberts), expert tactician and superlative swordsman.
Reynolds and his small party of soldiers - with an unhappy princess in tow - take refuge in a ruined farmhouse, and Morton and his gang begin the tiresome job of prying them out of their ravaged haven. The young Captain Reynolds and his men now have to use all of their guile and intelligence to outwit their assailants, and the hopelessly outnumbered guardsmen do their utmost to defend the princess and her dowry.
But neither Lord Morton nor the gallant Reynolds have reckoned with the devious Augustus Talbert, a man familiar with the Guardsman’s tactics, the treacherous swordsman being determined to gain the princess for himself …
Lord Morton (Ron Perlman)
An aristocratic thief, Lord Morton is the leader of a motley but murderous crew of piratical outlaws, and he is not averse to ruling them by terror – when he sends a messenger to parley with the besieged Reynolds, the poor man returns after being outwitted by Reynolds’ wily sergeant. Morton’s reply is the time-honoured one – he shoots the messenger.
Determined to gain the dowry, he sends his men against Reynolds and his little band of followers repeatedly, but unfortunately he is a poor tactician and is continuously outwitted, despite constant suggestions from Talbot as to how his campaign should be executed. Greedy he may be, but a soldier he is not – and Talbot begins to whittle away at his leadership until Morton takes umbrage, and a sword-fight ensues...
Morton has the hint of a dandy about him, enjoying the finer things in life, and his appearance confirms this. Dressed in vaguely 17th century style, his elegant damasked jacket in a pale creamy buff is set off by slit sleeves, buttoned but left gaping to show the inner lining. Heavy brown trousers – also with buttoned seams – are set off by sturdy black boots. The whole ensemble is finished with a pair of kidskin gloves and a lacy, high-collared shirt.