Kingdom of Heaven

Kingdom of Heaven is the fourth or fifth historical war epic since "Gladiator." None of them were particularly convincing. Either they were weak films ("Alexander"), historical nonsense ("King Arthur"), or both ("Troy"). The only exception being "The Lord of the Rings, which is more of an historical epic in a fantastic world, than a fantasy film. Now Ridley Scott, who started the whole movement years ago does another epic.

The film chooses a young blacksmith (Orlando Bloom), who finds he is the son of a knight, who owns a county in the holy land. After initial reluctance, he travels to Jerusalem, hoping to find peace and absolution for his sins. On the way he meets a number of people, who will play a role later in the film. Kingdom of Heaven casts the Knights Templar into the role of evil fanatics, who ruin the common Kingdom, were muslims and Christians live in peace (which is historical nonsense). Interestingly the film mostly casts the Christians in the role of the villains. (The crusades were infamous for their cruelty.)

Fortunately Ridley Scott does not repeat Wolfgang Peterson's ("Troy") mistake of trying to fill his Film with stars, unable to properly fit into their roles. Sure Orlando Bloom, Liam Neeson and Jeremy Irons are not exactly unknown, but they have been perfectly cast. The acting in the film does not seem to be technically difficult (for most part), but the actors seem to become their characters and live their emotions perfectly in that subtle almost intangible way of really good acting, which is, unfortunately, never rewarded.

The action sequences and battles in the film are definitely the best since the "Return of the King." The powerful choreography, the forceful feeling and the clear sense for the structure and flow of the fight is something none of the other epics mentioned above were able to provide in this powerful and accurate way. The violence is surprisingly harsh and bloody for the rating, but consistent and thus accepted as part of the film's world.

I do not know, how historically accurate the film is, but the strength of the world design is its credibility. It seems to offer a look into another age, even if the story is not very true to the actual history. The film offers a powerful story in a credible world and a high technical level in all areas. I am entirely unable to understand, why most so-called serious film-critics seem to have taken a set against this movie, offering anything a film-fan can ask for.