Kingdom of Heaven (2005)
Country: US/SP/GB
Technical: col/scope 145m
Director: Ridley Scott
Cast: Orlando Bloom, Liam Neeson, Eva Green, Jeremy Irons, Brendan Gleeson, David Thewlis, Marton Csokas, Jon Finch, Edward Norton, Ghassan Massoud, Iain Glen
Synopsis:
Towards the end of the 12th century, when Jerusalem lay in the hands of Christian powers, renegade templar knights did their best to provoke a war while their king favoured mutual tolerance. Against this backdrop the illegitimate son of a Norman baron inherits his father's honour and sides with the leper king to preserve peace.
Review:
The director does his Gladiator schtick again and makes another decent attempt at intelligent epic filmmaking, with just a touch of knowing humour. Bloom carries his first picture with aplomb and the action sequences are truly breathtaking, contrasting juddery close-quarter stuff with majestic long and aerial shots. This may not quite have the pedigree of a Lawrence of Arabia but the script is pretty good, with some nice echoes and only a couple of unconvincing plot turns (the shipwreck, the irrigation sequence - to think a blacksmith would know more about getting water out of the desert, or defending a city for that matter, than the next man!). Above all it carries a timely message about political cooperation between east and west based on religious tolerance and common humanity.
Country: US/SP/GB
Technical: col/scope 145m
Director: Ridley Scott
Cast: Orlando Bloom, Liam Neeson, Eva Green, Jeremy Irons, Brendan Gleeson, David Thewlis, Marton Csokas, Jon Finch, Edward Norton, Ghassan Massoud, Iain Glen
Synopsis:
Towards the end of the 12th century, when Jerusalem lay in the hands of Christian powers, renegade templar knights did their best to provoke a war while their king favoured mutual tolerance. Against this backdrop the illegitimate son of a Norman baron inherits his father's honour and sides with the leper king to preserve peace.
Review:
The director does his Gladiator schtick again and makes another decent attempt at intelligent epic filmmaking, with just a touch of knowing humour. Bloom carries his first picture with aplomb and the action sequences are truly breathtaking, contrasting juddery close-quarter stuff with majestic long and aerial shots. This may not quite have the pedigree of a Lawrence of Arabia but the script is pretty good, with some nice echoes and only a couple of unconvincing plot turns (the shipwreck, the irrigation sequence - to think a blacksmith would know more about getting water out of the desert, or defending a city for that matter, than the next man!). Above all it carries a timely message about political cooperation between east and west based on religious tolerance and common humanity.
Country: US/SP/GB
Technical: col/scope 145m
Director: Ridley Scott
Cast: Orlando Bloom, Liam Neeson, Eva Green, Jeremy Irons, Brendan Gleeson, David Thewlis, Marton Csokas, Jon Finch, Edward Norton, Ghassan Massoud, Iain Glen
Synopsis:
Towards the end of the 12th century, when Jerusalem lay in the hands of Christian powers, renegade templar knights did their best to provoke a war while their king favoured mutual tolerance. Against this backdrop the illegitimate son of a Norman baron inherits his father's honour and sides with the leper king to preserve peace.
Review:
The director does his Gladiator schtick again and makes another decent attempt at intelligent epic filmmaking, with just a touch of knowing humour. Bloom carries his first picture with aplomb and the action sequences are truly breathtaking, contrasting juddery close-quarter stuff with majestic long and aerial shots. This may not quite have the pedigree of a Lawrence of Arabia but the script is pretty good, with some nice echoes and only a couple of unconvincing plot turns (the shipwreck, the irrigation sequence - to think a blacksmith would know more about getting water out of the desert, or defending a city for that matter, than the next man!). Above all it carries a timely message about political cooperation between east and west based on religious tolerance and common humanity.