Kingdom Of Heaven

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I saw this at a preview tonight and I can heartily recommend it. A tad gory, but what do you expect from the Crusades.
Orlando Bloom moves up from being teenybop favourite into the big league, expect an oscar nomination next year.

Some of the issues in the film are food for thought, the Templar Knights are like christian medieval version of Osama Bin Laden - hell bent on starting a full scale holy war. Lets hope our leaders are as wise as Saladin and see through it!

The action sequences are spectacular to say the least, as you'd expect from the team that made Gladiator. But, unlike Gladiator they're a bit more believable.

Mind the arrows!
 
thanks for the intro. can't wait to see it. won't be one of the first though, have to get baby sitter, you know how it is!
sounRAB goo though. i'm glad orlando has made that step to the big leagues. well deserved. good show.
 
They will be the spiritual descendants of those who went on the First Crusade at the Pope's behest, slaughtering innocents as they went and kicked off the whole Christian/Islam antipathy thing that's now lasted for nearly a thousand years.
 
Saw this last night. Absolutely superb. Far better than Troy and Alexander. I was suprised at how violent it actually is. Orlando Bloom does very well but dont go expecting a similar character to Maximus in Gladiator. Its a very different role. The special effects are top-notch and the final siege of Jerusalem is as good as anything in Lord Of The Rings but even more violent. Probably the most beautiful looking movie I can remember seeing too. I loved the way the film enRAB and I believe this is a true representation of what actually happened in the end. Off to buy the soundtrack as the music is excellent. Cant recommend it enough especially for lovers of Epic movies.
 
Kingdom of Heaven is on my must see list, I can't wait to see the film, looks absolutely wonderful, the music sounRAB quite lovely also.
 
ok, I've seent the movie and am quite impressed! Cinematography is gorgeous, loved the music, most of the performances were great. Orlando is miscast. No stature. :)

There was something about the final battle which gave it so much more weight over, say, the battle of Minas Tirith in LOTR:ROTK. Very good. :)

7/10




pardon? all he does is flare his nostrils!
 
It was boring. The 'gore' is simple splats of blood. Orlando's role was nothing more than he usually does [posh old english accent] we will fight for victory! [/posh old english accent]. Then again, I'm not a big fan of this kind of film. I'm not impressed since Ridley Scott is usually better than this, imo.

Yet another wannabe-epic-one-man-saves-the-day type film!
(althought he doesn't technically 'save' the city - but he does save all the people bla bla bla)

ooh, look, a [sarcasm]suprise[/sarcasm] romance! Shock!!

Did I miss something, or was Orlando the only survivor of the ship wreckes, along with, suprisingly, a single horse?

The battle scenes were clich
 
I agree with your comment about the horse... that was very stupid. It makes no sense. (anyone else whose seen it will know what i mean)



he wouldnt get nominated, EVER! well, maybe for a razzie...
 
I have just returned from seeing it, thought it was quite good, definitely my sort of film. I agree about Orlando, he is quite gorgeous but not a particularly good actor.
 
I only got to see this film a couple of weeks ago. I thought it was wonderful. About a thousand times better than Alexander, a hundred times better than Troy, and gave Gladiator a good run for its money.

I was quite shocked to see the very poor reviews it had got, which I read having seen the film. They mostly said it was too long, it wasn't clear where the action was going, and that Orlando Bloom was somehow lost in the middle of it, not dominant enough. There were various comments along the lines that he looked like a gap-year student.

I loved the film so much I've been again and still love it. I think people are expecting the wrong things from it. It is an action film of course with lots of battle scenes and gore. It also brilliantly recreates a mediaeval Jerusalem full of exoticism and mystery which completely captivated this viewer.

However, I would like to address what some people see as the problem of Orlando Bloom's performance. Balian is intended to be an unassuming man who through a quirk of fate finRAB himself in Jerusalem in the hope of absolving his sins and those of his wife. Under the mistaken impression that God does not care about him, he proceeRAB to do good wherever he goes, and makes a favourable impression on all who come into contact with him - except for the "baddies" of course. Everything about his appearance and actions suggest he is intended to be a Christ-like figure, a quiet still centre of the action. Comparisons with Russell Crowe's Maximus and Colin Farrell's Alexander are totally irrelevant and wide of the mark.

His very quick grasp of engineering and military tactics, given that he is just a blacksmith, is a bit farfetched. But we're into miracle territory here, I believe.

The whole cast was splendid and there were some terrific cinematic moments, such as when the Christian army led by King Baldwin came into view with the huge jewelled cross glinting in the sunlight.
 
Firstly, everyone compares these four films at the moment; Glandiator, Troy, Alexander and Kingdom of Heaven. Though really, they are all so different there hardly seems to be any point. I love them all (truly) and obviousy some I love more than others (Gladiator, to name one). Can they not exist harmoniously!?

Secondly, I think my real quarm with Orlando Bloom is.... well... Orlando. Its always Orlando when you're watching it, the guy from LOTR- not Balian. His incredibly fame makes it unbelieveable and hard to get into. A lesser known actor would have been much greater.
 
The obvious reason to compare the four films is that they are all historical epics, a genre that had fallen out of favour since the 60s but has come back into vogue since Gladiator.

And I don't have a problem with Orlando Bloom. I'm not a teenager and I'm not into celebs. My only problem with him was that I didn't like him as anything except Legolas. But this film changed that.
 
Well yes that is the only comparable point, though time wise etc. they are all very different. I think it must be the skirts/sandals thing- I just love it. :p
 
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