TRISTAN & ISOLDE (2006): 1 star out of 4. Starring James Franco, Sophia Myles, Rufus Sewell, David Patrick O'Hara, Mark, Strong, Henry Cavill, Bronagh Gallagher, Ronan Vibert and Lucy Russell. Written by Dean Georgaris. Directed by Kevin Reynolds. Rated PG-13. Running time: Approx. 125 mins.

        The tagline for this Dark Ages romance is 'Before Romeo and Juliet there was ...”

        Well, if Tristan & Isolde had at least half the passion of Romeo and Juliet, it would have made for a better movie. And, perhaps, if it had Shakespeare writing the script, it would not have been as tedious as it is.

        Tristan & Isolde seem to owe more to Camelot (or the other way around) than to the Bard's star-crossed lovers.

        In either case, whoever inspired whom is not the point. What is, is that Tristan & Isolde is humdrum and dull.

        And, yes, leads James Franco and Sophia Myles look gorgeous, but you can't keep the camera focused for two hours on two people who continually mope, gaze longingly, suffer and weep, or the audience will walk out — it they're still awake.

        Even the battle sequences are haphazard — filmed in that quick, cross-cutting method so popular today that makes it difficult to tell who is killing whom.

        The story is set during the period after the Roman occupation when Britain was ruled by tribes and dominated by Ireland (how's that for irony, in the light of recent history). Young Tristan (Franco) who, after the death of his parents, is adopted by Lord Marke (Rufus Sewell), leads the Britons in a revolt against the Irish oppressors.

        Wounded and believed dead, he is set adrift for burial at sea and is carried to Ireland where he is discovered and nursed back to health by Isolde (Myles), who does not tell Tristan that she is the daughter of the Irish king.

        Eventually, Tristan wins the king's daughter in tournament as a bride for Marke and, too late, discovers her true identity.

        There follows scene after scene of the two yearningly gazing at each other, fighting the temptation to bed down, but finally giving in, which, as you would imagine, causes all kinds of complications.

        Director Kevin Reynolds, who foisted the two Kevin Costner turkeys, Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves and Waterworld on an unsuspecting movie-going public, directs in his usual bland manner.

        The movie lacks style and pacing; Franco and Myles look too contemporary. They would be more at home with their romantic problems on some Fox or WB drama than in Great Britain during the Dark Ages.

        They lack the larger-than-life quality needed for such epic characters.
Tristan & Isolde is one of the great love stories of all time; an inspiration for ballads and operas. Yet in the hands of Reynolds it is flat and distant, without creating any emotional investment for the audience.

        You'd be better served discovering the story in some other medium.

        Bob Bloom is the film critic and DVD reviewer at the Journal and Courier in Lafayette, Ind. He can be reached by e-mail at bbloom@journalandcourier.com or at bob@bloomink.com. Bloom's reviews also can be found at the Journal and Courier Web site: www.jconline.com
Other reviews by Bloom can be found at the Rottentomatoes Web site: www.rottentomatoes.com.