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DVD Kingdom of Heaven (Widescreen Edition)
It's hard to believe Ridley Scott's handsome epic won't become the cinematic touchstone of the Crusades for years to come. Kingdom of Heaven is greater than the sum of its parts, delivering a vital, mostly engrossing tale following Balian (Orlando Bloom), a lonely French blacksmith who discovers he's a noble heir and takes his father's (Liam Neeson) place in the center of the universe circa 1184: Jerusalem. Here, grand battles and backdoor politics are key as Scott and first-time screenwriter William Monahan fashion an excellent storyline to tackle the centuries-long conflict. Two forward-thinking kings, Baldwin (Edward Norton in an uncredited yet substantial role) and Saladin (Ghassan Massoud), hold an uneasy truce between Christians (who hold the city) and Muslims while factions champ at the bit for blood. There are good and evildoers on both sides, with the Knights Templar taking the brunt of the blame; Balian plans to find his soul while protecting Baldwin and the people. The look of the film, as nearly everything is from Scott, is impressive: his CGI-infused battle scenes rival the LOTR series and, with cinematographer John Mathieson, create postcard beauty with snowy French forests and the vast desert (filmed in Morocco and Spain). An excellent supporting cast, including Jeremy Irons, Brendan Gleeson, and David Thewlis, also help make the head and heart of the film work. Many critics pointed out that Bloom doesn't have the gravitas of Russell Crowe in the lead (then again, who does?), but it's the underdeveloped character and not the actor that hurts the film and impacts its power. Balian isn't given much more to do than be sullen and give an occasional big speech, alongside his perplexing abilities for warfare tactics and his wandering moral compass (whose sole purpose seems to be to put a love scene in the movie). Note: all the major characters except Neeson's are based on fact, but many are heavily fictionalized. --Doug Thomas
Review(s): DVD Kingdom of Heaven (Widescreen Edition)
A "sleeper" crusade movie
This is a good movie. Its flop at the box-office may have more to do with contemporary theatre economics than production values and storyline. The acting, cinematography, costumes, sets and music are outstanding. It is a different angle on the crusades. No, it's not pro Muslim, although it does provide useful glimpses of their viewpoint. It's not particularly pro Christian, either; it shows that all Christians were not of one mind when it came to ruling the holy city. The leaders of both armies, espcially Saladin, come across as decent men dealing with a complicated situation.
It was alright, but don't expect a "Christian" movie
I know there's alot of hype going on with this being a good "Christian" movie but I wouldn't recommend it to people who haven't been Christians for a long time, because it's not very accurate. They were basically using the crusades as a convenient placeholder for a message against Muslums, or however you spell that. It's kind of like the Noah's Ark tv movie, or the Left Behind movies, or the so-so remake of the exceptional movie Jesus. If you're looking for a Christian message, see The Passion of the Christ or read The Bible. But Liam Neeson's role was excellent!
Uninspired and Unbelievable
I saw this one somewhat reluctantly, expecting another epic with grand sweeping battles and great visuals (like the Iliad) but with a somewhat questionable storyline. Truth be told, I'm kind of exhausted of epic war movies after LOTR drained me, but I saw Kingdom of Heaven anyways. Big mistake.
The movie is terrible. It stars Legolas (or whatever the hell his real name is) as some backwater blacksmith who finds out he's the bastard son of some nobleman. After the nobleman dies, Legolas assumes his fathers place and proceeds to thrash anyone who gets in his way. This part of the movie drove me nuts. Observe: the movie seems to span about a week in time. In that short time, Legolas goes from a simple blacksmith to some kind of master warrior who is easily able to defeat trained knights on the battlefield. Nevermind the fact that his life to this point has consisted of beating iron over a forge; this is Hollywood! Not only is he nearly invincible, but suddenly the king of Jerusalem declares his love for him AFTER KNOWING HIM FOR 2 DAYS! Then he passes the throne to him upon his death! What has he done to inspire this love? Well, he sleeps with the king's sister, sets his peasants to days of digging in the dust, and loiters around Jerusalem sitting on hilltops and walking through the streets. Wouldn't you say this qualifies him to rule probably the most famous city in history?
And that's not all folks, it gets even better! After Legolas turns down the kingship (because he's such a perfect knight), he proceeds to advise the city's generals on the best way to conduct a war. Because everyone knows that a large portion of blacksmith training involves military tactics, troop deployment, and psychology of the enemy's mind (which he seems to know intimately, despite the fact that he never met the man). Foolishly, the veteran generals dismiss Legolas's master plan, and they are of course beaten. So if falls to Legs to devise defense plans for Jerusalem. He proceeds to make impassioned speeches to his troops, command the firing and placement of huge, complex catapults called trebuchets, decide where to place his archers and troops, and generally make all the tough decisions that experienced battlefield commanders are more prone to. All of which he succeeds brilliantly at. Of course.
I could go on, but I'm so furious at this point I'm going to break my keyboard. Read some of the other negative reviews to see all about the historical innaccuracies and such. Simply put, don't waste 2 1/2 hours on this pile of crap.
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