Kingdom Of Heaven
I saw this at a preview tonight and I can heartily recommend it. A tad gory, but what do you expect from the Crusades.
Orlando Bloom moves up from being teenybop favourite into the big league, expect an oscar nomination next year.
Some of the issues in the film are food for thought, the Templar Knights are like christian medieval version of Osama Bin Laden - hell bent on starting a full scale holy war. Lets hope our leaders are as wise as Saladin and see through it!
The action sequences are spectacular to say the least, as you'd expect from the team that made Gladiator. But, unlike Gladiator they're a bit more believable.
Mind the arrows!
Orlando Bloom moves up from being teenybop favourite into the big league, expect an oscar nomination next year.
Some of the issues in the film are food for thought, the Templar Knights are like christian medieval version of Osama Bin Laden - hell bent on starting a full scale holy war. Lets hope our leaders are as wise as Saladin and see through it!
The action sequences are spectacular to say the least, as you'd expect from the team that made Gladiator. But, unlike Gladiator they're a bit more believable.
Mind the arrows!
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Comments
sounds goo though. i'm glad orlando has made that step to the big leagues. well deserved. good show.
Ah, no wonder they are quite vexed, they are worried we are all going to start taking notice of religion because of one film?
There was something about the final battle which gave it so much more weight over, say, the battle of Minas Tirith in LOTR:ROTK. Very good.
7/10
pardon? all he does is flare his nostrils!
Yet another wannabe-epic-one-man-saves-the-day type film!
ooh, look, a [sarcasm]suprise[/sarcasm] romance! Shock!!
Did I miss something, or was Orlando the only survivor of the ship wreckes, along with, suprisingly, a single horse?
The battle scenes were cliché. In fact, so was the majority of the movie.
Cinematography is nice, though.
he wouldnt get nominated, EVER! well, maybe for a razzie...
Bog being the operative word.
I was quite shocked to see the very poor reviews it had got, which I read having seen the film. They mostly said it was too long, it wasn't clear where the action was going, and that Orlando Bloom was somehow lost in the middle of it, not dominant enough. There were various comments along the lines that he looked like a gap-year student.
I loved the film so much I've been again and still love it. I think people are expecting the wrong things from it. It is an action film of course with lots of battle scenes and gore. It also brilliantly recreates a mediaeval Jerusalem full of exoticism and mystery which completely captivated this viewer.
However, I would like to address what some people see as the problem of Orlando Bloom's performance. Balian is intended to be an unassuming man who through a quirk of fate finds himself in Jerusalem in the hope of absolving his sins and those of his wife. Under the mistaken impression that God does not care about him, he proceeds to do good wherever he goes, and makes a favourable impression on all who come into contact with him - except for the "baddies" of course. Everything about his appearance and actions suggest he is intended to be a Christ-like figure, a quiet still centre of the action. Comparisons with Russell Crowe's Maximus and Colin Farrell's Alexander are totally irrelevant and wide of the mark.
His very quick grasp of engineering and military tactics, given that he is just a blacksmith, is a bit farfetched. But we're into miracle territory here, I believe.
The whole cast was splendid and there were some terrific cinematic moments, such as when the Christian army led by King Baldwin came into view with the huge jewelled cross glinting in the sunlight.
Firstly, everyone compares these four films at the moment; Glandiator, Troy, Alexander and Kingdom of Heaven. Though really, they are all so different there hardly seems to be any point. I love them all (truly) and obviousy some I love more than others (Gladiator, to name one). Can they not exist harmoniously!?
Secondly, I think my real quarm with Orlando Bloom is.... well... Orlando. Its always Orlando when you're watching it, the guy from LOTR- not Balian. His incredibly fame makes it unbelieveable and hard to get into. A lesser known actor would have been much greater.
And I don't have a problem with Orlando Bloom. I'm not a teenager and I'm not into celebs. My only problem with him was that I didn't like him as anything except Legolas. But this film changed that.
Oh yes, sword & sandals does it for me every time.
Could be I'm a bit bias as my real name is Odysseas.
Has anyone seen the Director's Cut of Kingdom of Heaven? I've just bought it on Blu-ray (also available on DVD) and this greatly extended cut is infinitely better than the original theatrical release.
I would strongly urge people to try the Director's Cut (whether or not you saw the original) - it adds about 45 minutes to the film and is a real masterpiece.
more like three hours of hell (which, incidentally, would pass quicker than watching this film)
On a side note, Eva Green is hypnotically beautiful in this film. :eek: Her eyes, my God...
Agreed, I watched the directors cut last year for the first time and it's now one of my all time favourites.
Can't argue with you there.
I'd also like to point out Edward Norton as King Baldwin - even though he wears a mask for 99.9% of his screentime, his acting really shines (a difficult task when all you can see are his eyes and hear his voice - his body and head mannerisms also add a lot).
i enjoyed it,it looks amazing,some great battle scenes and i liked the message
i think what holds it back is that for a story so epic it kinda seems basic at the same time, dunno if that makes sense. i read this morning that ridley scott wanted the film to be longer and he had to edit down alot of scenes, it did seem very fast paced
great cast,good film