Before watching the film, I felt a bit incredulous in seeing the tagline in the movie poster "Before Romeo & Juliet, There was..." and you know what comes next. Well, to tell the truth, I wasn't really into the film because many have failed trying to revive or to romanticize the Romeo & Juliet cliche, and Hollywood had done poorly in bringing forbidden love stories, and only a few "greats" had passed the sentence. Now, honestly this time, Tristan & Isolde isn't as great as Romeo & Juliet - but - it perseveres to be unique on its own. That is what I like in the movie. It tries to be a "forbidden love" story yet it gives a whole new light to tragic miseries and film substance. The best thing about this movie is that it has an elegantly written script, not from Shakepeare's pages, but from the deft hand of this film's screenwriter, and added up to the director's also deft directing. It is not a perfect movie, but it has perfect moments. There are flaws, but flaws which are worth remembering. Actually, Tristan & Isolde is a good film. And I like the way it was shot, set in the lush sweeping sceneries of Ireland and England, and the way love is conveyed in this film, it's uncommon and they put a new twist to the "forbidden love" thing. James Franco as Tristan is fine and acceptable, whose sharp jaw could almost cut any glass, but still in my own opinion, lacking the leading man subtance we're all looking for. But he did quite fine here actually, almost overshadowing the character he played in Spiderman movies. What really steals the scenes here is Sophia Myles as Isolde. Bloody F-ing hell, she's awesome! She's both strong and fragile in this film and she was able to portray the character really well, making it ultimately believable. She's beautiful and worth having; I trust her to be a fine actress someday. All in all, this movie is worth to watch, enjoyable and had the right amount of love story, mystery and beautiful landscapes.

Rating: A-