PHOTO PROVIDED Heath Ledger as William Thatcher, center, and Mark Addy and Alan Tudyk as Roland and Wat in a still from “A Knight’s Tale.”

Who doesn’t love a good movie set in medieval times? I think every kid went through a phase where they wanted to be a knight or at least got really into learning about the time frame. Oh… just me? Eh, that’s fine.

Anyway I got to remember that time of my childhood while watching “A Knight’s Tale” recently.

To be honest I didn’t even mean to watch it this past weekend. My sister just doesn’t like scary things and I was watching a horror themed TV show so I needed to change it. Usually I’d use this opportunity to make fun of her but I’m using her streaming accounts for most of these movie reviews so I’ll refrain this one time (you’re welcome Emily).

Joking about my sister aside, “A Knight’s Tale” was definitely worth the watch! It combines the classic medieval aesthetic with many comedic moments and a pretty killer soundtrack.

The movie came out in 2001 and is loosely based on Geoffrey Chaucer’s “A Knight’s Tale” in the “The Canterbury Tales.” It stars the late Heath Ledger, Shannyn Sossamon, Mark Addy, Alan Tudyk, Rufus Sewell, Laura Fraser, Paul Bettany and James Purefoy.

Ledger stars in the titular role of William Thatcher, a young man who hopes to one day become a knight.

That chance comes pretty quickly when his master, Sir Ector, dies suddenly of dysentery in the middle of a jousting tournament. Ector was close to winning much to Will and his fellow squires’ — Roland (Addy) and Wat (Tudyk) — excitement.

Will manages to convince his friends to let him impersonate the dead knight and wins the tournament. Having gotten a taste for the sport he wants to continue competing much to Roland and Wat’s uncertainty. The pair would much rather take the winnings from the tournament and leave but instead back their friend and help him train.

There’s one problem with Will’s dream… only nobles and knights can compete in tournaments. While on the road they encounter a young Geoffrey Chaucer (Bettany) the very author of the original tale who is very much down on his luck.

Geoffrey agrees to forge a patent of nobility for Will as Sir Ulrich von Liechtenstein from Gelderland (trying say that name ten times really fast). And so begins his dive into the jousting world.

Will competes in tournament after tournament with the goal of making it back to his childhood home of London for the world championship. Along the way he makes friends such as Kate (Fraser), a highly skilled blacksmith; Edward the Black Prince (Purefoy); and the beautiful Jocelyn (Sossamon), a noblewoman with a penchant for mischief, who he falls for immediately.

He also manages to make an enemy in Count Adhemar (Sewell), an opposing jouster who also has his eyes set on Jocelyn and seeing the younger would-be knight knocked down both literally and metaphorically.

I don’t want to get too in depth with the story to give anyone who wants to watch it a chance to see for themselves what happens. What I will say is the storyline holds up really well. And of course Ledger is a knock out as Will. I don’t think I’ve seen a movie he starred in that wasn’t enhanced thanks to his range.

Compared to some movies set in the same time it isn’t quite as gritty and true to the timeframe. There are, of course, some very serious moments like when Will is injured in his final match against Adhemar or when he lets himself lose on purpose to win Jocelyn’s heart earlier in the film.

Those serious moments are overwhelmed by the more comedic and light hearted scenes. Like when Geoffrey, ever the dramatic, announces William’s faux name before a match with gusto much to the crowds delight.

Like I said before too, the soundtrack, as the youths say, “slaps.” You’ve got well known hits such as “We Will Rock You” by Queen, “Takin’ Care of Business” by Bachman-Turner Overdrive and “You Shook Me All Night Long” by AC/DC. To be honest there’s a chance I’m going to make a playlist of these songs on Spotify soon.

If you’re interested in a good, heartfelt story of a young man’s determination to raise himself and his friends up higher than before then I highly suggest “A Knight’s Tale.”

The movie is rated PG-13 and can be viewed on Netflix with a subscription or rented from Vudu, Amazon Prime, YouTube, iTunes or Google Play.

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Laura Jameson is a staff reporter for The Express.