MOVIE REVIEW : A ‘Knight’ in Modern Armor : Richard Gere might be too contemporary for his role as Sir Lancelot, but the legend of King Arthur survives in this film.

Wary filmgoers with long memories have learned the hard way what to avoid.

Those who survived “Yes, Giorgio” won’t be rushing to see Luciano Pavarotti as a romantic lead any time soon, just as veterans of “The Jazz Singer” were not disturbed that Laurence Olivier never managed another film with Neil Diamond. And anyone who made it through “King David” knows that taking Richard Gere out of the 20th Century is an extremely risky proposition.

It is a measure of the surprising resilience of “First Knight” that its casting of Gere as a cocky street tough who becomes Sir Lancelot does not decimate director Jerry Zucker’s version of the King Arthur legend. But Gere is such a completely contemporary actor, so at sea in a suit of armor, that seeing him saunter through medieval halls as if he were a vice cop strolling Sunset Boulevard is shock enough to take us out of the story whenever he appears.

Aside from Gere, “First Knight” acquits itself honorably enough. Sean Connery scores points for typecasting as the noble Arthur; Julia Ormond, the ingenue of the moment, is appropriately fetching and feisty as Guinevere his bride, and 91-year-old Sir John Gielgud puts in a brief appearance to show everyone how it ought to be done.

And though certain over-choreographed segments play like halftime at the Camelot Bowl, “First Knight’s” large-scale action set pieces are capably done and more than tolerably exciting. And Gere, coached by Bob Anderson, who worked with Errol Flynn 40-some years ago, not only did his own sword-fighting but is actually quite good at it. The problem for him, and the film, comes when the non-physical acting begins.

This is not meant as a slur on Gere’s ability. But the specifically here-and-now aspects of his persona that led to the considerable success of both “An Officer and a Gentleman” and “Pretty Woman” betray him here. To be a successful romantic fantasy, a film like “First Knight” must compel belief in its mythical setting, and perhaps the nicest thing to say about Gere’s presence is that it doesn’t make that any easier.

“First Knight’s” William Nicholson script (from a story by Lorne Cameron & David Hoselton and Nicholson) takes several liberties with the Arthurian legend, which is mostly OK given that the particulars of the story have changed greatly over the 1,400 years it has been part of the Western literary tradition. Absent are the sword Excalibur, the magician Merlin and the mysterious Morgan le Fay, replaced by an elaborate back-story for Lancelot that takes pains to explain how a non-traditional figure like Gere ended up a knight.

This movie’s Lancelot is a wandering swordsman from who knows where who makes a living hustling winner-take-all bouts with gullible locals. A devilish rogue who owes his success to his indifference about staying alive, Lancelot is so intent on going his own way you half-expect the Crystals’ “He’s a Rebel” to appear on the soundtrack when he’s around.

Lancelot doesn’t know it, but he is fated to cross paths with Guinevere of Leonesse, the good-hearted ruler of that tiny town who finds herself the target of predatory raids by the bad-to-the-bone Malagant (“Chariot of Fire’s” Ben Cross in a splendid change of pace), a former member of the Round Table who believes, rather like some modern politicians, that “men don’t want brotherhood, they want leadership.”

Those fierce raids cement Guinevere’s decision to marry the powerful and protective King Arthur of Camelot, still dashing despite all those gray hairs. “How could I love anyone more?” she asks rhetorically, one of those fate-tempting statements that are reminiscent of the on-the-nose qualities of writer Nicholson’s previous scripts for “Shadowlands,” “Sarafina!” and “Nell.”

Nearly captured by Malagant while on her way to Arthur, Guinevere is rescued by Lancelot, who just happens to be in the neighborhood. In the film’s most embarrassing sequence, she fights off his romantic advances with a magisterial “How dare you treat me like this,” and he insistently replies, “I can tell when a woman wants me. I can see it in her eyes.” It’s a good thing Tennyson and Thomas Mallory didn’t live to hear this.

Chance also brings the young swordsman to Camelot and the attention of Arthur, who looks him over and says, “Lancelot, we won’t be forgetting that name.” Soon enough the three of them are involved in a “a woman who loved two heroes too well” love triangle that has been made so contemporary it seems to cry out for air time on Oprah.

Though it is hard to resist having some fun with “First Knight’s” weaknesses--which include its decision not to emphasize Lancelot’s traditional fierce loyalty to the king--director Zucker, in his first outing since “Ghost,” has in truth made an acceptable attempt at a Camelot romance that, if not entirely convincing, stumbles less frequently than might be imagined.

Aside from Gere, presumably cast for his box-office appeal, “First Knight’s” other failure of nerve comes in its ending, which, probably for the same reason, departs as far as it dares from the terrible sadness that has made the Arthur story last as long as it has. Long enough, presumably, to survive even this.

* MPAA rating: PG-13, for some brutal medieval battles. Times guidelines: not as gruesome as might be feared.

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‘First Knight’ Sean Connery: Arthur Richard Gere: Lancelot Julia Ormond: Guinevere Ben Cross: Malagant Liam Cunningham: Sir Agravaine John Gielgud: Oswald A Zucker Brothers production, released by Columbia Pictures. Director Jerry Zucker. Producers Jerry Zucker, Hunt Lowry. Executive producers Gil Netter, Eric Rattray, Janet Zucker. Screenplay William Nicholson. Story Lorne Cameron & David Hoselton and William Nicholson. Cinematographer Adam Greenberg. Editor Walter Murch. Costumes Nana Cecchi. Music Jerry Goldsmith. Production design John Box. Supervising art directors Bob Laing, Michael White. Art directors, Stephen Scott, Giles Masters. Set decorator Malcolm Stone. Running time: 2 hours, 12 minutes.

* In general release throughout Southern California