Kingdom of Heaven

KINGDOM OF HEAVEN (2005) - May 8, 2005
A visually arresting film by Ridley Scott about a blacksmith who eventually becomes the leader of a group of Christians in Jerusalem during the Crusades. Orlando Bloom is better than usual in the main role, and doesn't come off here nearly as feminine as he usually does. The film is refreshingly complex in its portrayal of the two sides, showing the Muslims as essentially being the Christians' equals, rather than simply two-dimensional villains (as in something like King Arthur). The movie does lag a bit around the middle, but for the most part is quite entertaining. The special effects are really impressive, particularly during the battle scenes and in the recreation of Jerusalem at the time. There wasn't a single moment where I thought that something looked clearly artificial, despite the fact that computers were clearly used to portray the gigantic armies. The whole movie was really visually impressive, but I guess that's not much of a surprise considering it was directed by Ridley Scott. ***1/2