A Scientist at the Movies Reviews by Greg Paris

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Title: Kingdom of Heaven

Date Viewed: 5/30/05

Details:

Orlando Bloom (Balian)

David Thewlis (Hospitaler)

Liam Neeson (Godfrey)

Marton Csokas (Guy de Lusignan)

Eva Green (Sibylla)

Brendan Gleeson (Reynald)

Jeremy Irons (Tiberias)

Edward Norton (King Baldwin)

Ghassan Massoud (Saladin)

Director: Ridley Scott

Score: +

The Review: As an attempt at a politically balanced view of the Crusades, retelling stories that are all too familiar -- if wrong -- Kingdom of Heaven is only partially successful. As a compelling story of good versus evil, an exploration of man's inhumanity to man with surprisingly good acting and dramatic arc, it works quite well. But if you are a fan of the Knight's Templar, this is not for you.

Soon after the death of his wife, rural blacksmith Balian (Bloom) discovers that he is son and potential heir to high-born Godfrey (Neeson), and on-the-spot gets invited to join the current Crusade to "free Jerusalem from the infidel." Unfortunate circumstances conspire to push Balian along this path, and he soon joins the fray. Most of the conflict is not with the Moors, however, but with fellow Christians. The Moors, with Massoud playing a temperate Saladin, come off as the more civilized of the two.

While this was not quite Gladiator, neither did it suffer from the outrageous fake SFX backdrops that Gladiator needed to implement Rome. Jerusalem was much better served here, although for its surrounding villages to have scenic snow-capped peaks on the horizon was a little odd, geographically. The staging of the battles and sieges seems to have the same rhythm and feel as those in Lord of the Rings.

(31-Jul-05)

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