Heavens Above! (Kingdom of Heaven (DVD))

Member Name: dannyjb123

Product:	Kingdom of Heaven (DVD)
Date:	15/05/06 (66 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: A good historical romp.

Disadvantages: A bit Black Hawk Down with swords at times.

Kingdom of Heaven, Ridley Scott (2005)
Staring: Orlando Bloom, Liam Neeson, Jeremy Irons

Plot:

Orlando Bloom plays Balian a simple blacksmith who embarks on a exciting adventure.
After the death of his wife Balian the village blacksmith is approached by an ageing knight who claims to be his father. Balian pays the knight little heed until he is forced to flee the village and his life is saved by the man who claims to be his father who is gravely wounded in the process. Balian accompanies his fathers companions to the Holy Land. Which is where the adventure really starts. After a shipwreck and a desert trek Balian finally arrives at Jerusalem, where he inherits his fathers title and lands and must face the attacking muslim hordes.

At first I thought this film was going to be a standard hack and slash journey through Biblical lands but the film is better than this on many levels.
Firstly Balian as a character is played well by Bloom who gives a sterling performance and he seems to have put some effort into his representation of Balian. The dialogue and plot are both carefully crafted and work well.
Scott has constructed a thoughtful film and captures the essence of a the medieval city well, and the special effects are of high quality and the battle scenes are top notch.
One critisim is that the film uses many shots that have been lifted straight out of BHD, especially the overhead 'birds eye view' angles. But that is just the directors style and who am I to judge!

This film could easily have become a predictable epic but is actually a top class effort.

Summary: Thoughtful, looks great.