Movie Review: Kingdom of Heaven

Kingdom of Heaven

Ridley Scott, who brought us the Oscar™ winning Gladiator, helmed this epic story of the Crusades. It's an interesting parallel between then and now that the Middle East of even a thousand years ago was a hotbed of political intrigue and religious infighting — though the battles then were even dirtier and more personal than they are today. It's also true that in both times we see men of reason who do their best to counteract men of fanatic beliefs. That, of course, simplifies the circumstances of both time periods a great deal, and leaves much important albeit shaded nuance on the sidelines. The same is true of the movie.

Balian of Ibelin (Orlando Bloom) is a poor blacksmith who is recently bereaved of his wife and infant child. Even as he grieves, he's paid a surprise visit by the father he never knew. Godfrey of Ibelin (Liam Neeson) is a Baron who fights and guards pilgrims and the king in the Holy Land. He's sought out his son to beg his forgiveness for deserting him and his mother. He asks Balian to join him to give the two some small opportunity to get to know each other, but Balian declines both to forgive him or to go along. But circumstances — not least of which is his strong desire to obtain forgiveness from God for the suicide of his wife — changes Balian's mind.

Godfrey and his men begin to refine Balian's sword fighting techniques on the journey, but his education is both sealed and cut short when Godfrey is seriously injured in a fight. Balian is knighted and, ready or not, made Baron in his father's stead. After a dangerous trip across the sea, Balian finds himself in the Holy Land, a place utterly foreign to him in virtually every way. The Hospitaler (David Thewlis) — a member of a monastic brotherhood that caters to pilgrims — proves a wise advisor to the young Balian as does Tiberias (Jeremy Irons), the military advisor to King Baldwin (Edward Norton in an uncredited role).

But nothing can prepare Balian for the fatalism of the first Muslims he meets (among them is Naris, played by Alexander Siddig, who teaches Balian a lesson of honor he'll never forget), or for the instant attraction he feels to the Princess Sibylla (Eva Green). Unfortunately, Sibylla is married to Guy de Lusignan (Marton Csokas). Although the marriage is a loveless one arranged by Sibylla's own mother, the alliance it cemented is an important one, and both Balian and the princess are helpless to change their circumstances.

Among other unflattering things, Guy de Lusignan is a Knight Templar. Though the King has managed a truce with Saladin (Ghassan Massoud), the leader of the Saracens, the Knights Templar would prefer a war to any kind of peace with the "infidels." Along with Reynald de Chattillon (Brendan Gleeson), de Lusignan works behind the scenes to ignite conflict. The King, who suffers from leprosy, is likely not long for the world, and the Knights Templar intend to be ready to take over policy when he finally dies. Only Balian and Tiberias argue against such precipitous action, but their voices won't be enough to stop what will almost certainly turn to the slaughter of all of those who live in Jerusalem, the fabled "Kingdom of Heaven."

Orlando Bloom is all right as Balian of Ibelin. It helps that, at the age of 28, he's finally starting to look more like a man than a very pretty boy. Eva Green is attractive enough, but seems to have little range beyond looking wistfully into the camera with her big, beautiful eyes. Jeremy Irons, however, does a fine job embodying a grizzled war veteran, and Brendan Gleeson is just terrific playing the manic and war-mongering Reynald. Edward Norton, though wearing a mask and extensive clothing to cover his leprous body, is surprisingly effective in body language alone. Of course, as with many movies of this nature, the biggest star of the film is probably the epic battle scenes which are loaded to the gills with imperceptible CGI (lest you wonder, "imperceptible" in this context means "virtually flawless").

The problem with Kingdom of Heaven isn't in its superlative special effects or its perfectly acceptable acting. It's in a script that's bizarrely barren of impact. One early review I read called the movie beautiful to look at, but lacking in substance. I liken it to a prettily wrapped package that, once opened, proves an empty box. There's little excuse for this in the depiction of a time with so many wrenching stories to tell and which was filled with battles of both personal and political nature. If you want to see some excellent costuming, sets, and medieval battles, by all means take a look at this movie. But if you want to be entertained or to come away from the theatre with some reminder of something meaningful, this isn't the movie for you.

POLITICAL NOTES: Much of the politics of a thousand years ago is strangely apropos to the politics of today. As the Christians, Muslims, and Jews fight over a land that's holy to all of them, it's all too simple to wonder why it is they can't all simply respect the hallowed ground of the other. It's also easy to see why a battle that has essentially raged for more than a thousand years isn't going to be easily settled with a few peace talks.

FAMILY SUITABILITY: Kingdom of Heaven is rated R for "strong violence, [and] epic warfare." Some of the battle scenes are quite graphic, and blood aplenty is spilled. There are also tremendous gaps in the storyline which most adults will probably manage to fill in of their own knowledge but for which children won't be able to compensate. Although there are likely more than a few "tween" and teen girls who will want to see Orlando Bloom in his latest starring role, I certainly can't recommend the movie for many of them, particularly not those who are sensitive at all to scenes of a violent nature. Kingdom of Heaven is really for those of about age 15 or 16 and up, though in honesty, I don't really suggest anyone of any age bother with this one.