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Back Shelf Beauties
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Kingdom of Heaven Don't be Alexander. Don't be Alexander. Don't be Alexander. PLEASE, don't be Alexander. Damn. At least our star didn't dye his hair blonde and shave his legs like Colin Farrell. Orlando Bloom stars as Balian - a blacksmith from rural France who isn't aware of his noble roots. After losing his child during birth, and his wife to a subsequent suicide, Balian is not sure what God has in store for him in this world, and isn't quite sure of his own faith anymore. One day, a great Knight, Godfrey (Liam Neeson), shows up and announces he is Balian's father and wants the young man to join him in Jerusalem to fight by his side as the ailing King Baldwin (Edward Norton, hiding behind a mask) balances a tenuous peace between Christians and Muslims as war seems more inevitable by the day. Seeking redemption for his wife and his own sins, so he and she can ascend to heaven, Balian arrives in Jerusalem and is immersed in intrigue as he strikes up a relationship with Princess Sibylla (Eva Green), and earns the scorn of her devious husband and possible future king, Prince Guy de Lusignan (Marton Csokas). Can Balian help King Baldwin keep the peace while others try to start a war? More importantly, can you stay awake as the movie plods along? Kingdom of Heaven is a wonderful cure for insomnia. For all of the painstaking attention to costumes, fight scenes, and acting performances, the movie doesn't do much to get us excited. It's boring as the movie stumbles along seeking a sense of purpose not delivered by writer nor director. The script from William Monahan is full of populist ideals as Balian rises from working class man to noble to benevolent leader of many, but this rise is far from stunning and interesting. Without a great deal of dialogue, Balian's actions are supposed to speak louder than words, but his plaintive staring into the horizon, while supposedly meaningful, does not make a story. I almost felt like director Ridley Scott needed to insert a narrator to explain the importance of each scene, make clear the timeline, and show us the journey Balian takes from France to Jerusalem (which I only understood after reading the press notes). Scott does a great job showing us the expansiveness of armies and deserts, and draws us into the close, personal, ugly side of battles with graphic detail, but the overall story is not told well enough, especially the nefarious plots to fan the flames of war, which are not intricate enough to engage an audience that will be expecting more from an epic of this attempted caliber. He does a solid job showing each side's good guys and bad guys, especially those trying to keep the peace, but only pays lip service to each side's religious devotion as the inspiration for fighting these battles (something extremely important to The Crusades - which were fought for religious reasons). Balian is the only character whose religious beliefs drive his actions in this religious battle, but even his motives are selfish. Bloom is a grand, noble hero, but his speeches to rally the troops, or moments when he stands up to the dark side of royalty lack the grandeur he can bring to the moments. Monahan doesn't fill the character with flowing and inspiring words to blow away the audience. He forgets that Bloom's character, while trying to win over other characters in the movie, also is trying to win over the audience. Other actors also do what they can with the material, although Monahan and Scott shape the movie to let Norton, Csokas and Ghassan Massoud, as Muslim leader Saladin, capture our attention. Csokas is a solid foil for Bloom as his character seeks to start another war with Muslims (and fairs much better than Brendan Gleeson, who gets very goofy at times as Reynald - Lusignan's right hand man), while Norton and Saladin fill their characters with great honor and desire to avoid violence when it is not necessary. If you know a great deal about the crusades and the history of Jerusalem heading into the movie, you have a better chance to enjoy the film than those without. Scott and Monahan should have expected most of us who go to see the movie to have little understanding, and explained it all better to us. 1 ½ Waffles (Out Of 4) Copyright 2005 - WaffleMovies.com
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