WHAT Gladiator did for reviving Roman epic movies, A Knight's Tale could do for the big contact sport of the 14th century, jousting.

Not since Monty Python And The Holy Grail in 1975 has jousting been the stuff of movie drama, and writer/director Brian Helgeland makes a far better fist of his sport than ITV's lamentable football show, The Premiership, as the WWF meets Chaucer in Helgeland's irreverent medieval romp.

A Knight's Tale rocks, literally. When the opening joust thunders into action, up strikes Queen's We Will Rock You and the spectators clap in time, just as they did at Freddie Mercury's command in the Queen video. Now that is how to re-invigorate the tired art of using rock for soundtracks.

Helgeland is never too ambitious - a fault of this summer's Swordfish and Pearl Harbor - and so his storytelling is strictly Boy's Own, especially by comparison with his best screenplay, LA Confidential.

Heath Ledger, the new Aussie pin-up from The Patriot, plays handsome London commoner William Thatcher, a thatcher's son whose lack of noble breeding precludes him from jousting in the equivalent of the UEFA Champions League. His solution is to re-invent himself as Ulrich von Lichtenstein of Gelderland and rise rapidly through the European jousting-tournament ranks with the aid of his corner men, Helgeland's answer to Robin Hood's Merry Men.

Their costumes were apparently inspired by the Rolling Stones' 1972 tour, and if these misfits were a band, the sturdy, pragmatic Roland (York's loveable Mark Addy) would be on bass; aggressive ginger-nut Wat (Adam Tudyk) on lead guitar; the mouth almighty of Thatcher's promoter and MC, Geoffrey Chaucer (scene-stealing Paul Bettany), on vocals, and the tomboy of the piece, blacksmith Kate (fiery but largely forgotten Laura Fraser) on drums.

Meanwhile, Ledger makes a dashing matinee lead; Rufus Sewell flashes his devilish eyes as the villainous jousting rival Count Adhemar, and love interest Shannyn Sossamon looks gorgeous beneath a series of big Royal Ascot hats.

A Knight's Tale will be pitched as this year's Gladiator, not least because of its story of bravery, chivalry and its fanfare for the common man, and its excessive length, but where Gladiator took itself too seriously (Oliver Reed aside), Helgeland's ancient but modern caper is more in the spirit of Errol Flynn. Look out, in particular, for the in-jokes, such as a Nike symbol on a shield.

Corny, insubstantial fun it may be but A Knight's Tale is a knight to remember, with a Thatcher you will want to win time after time.