Kingdom of Heaven

[Mark]

The only problem with these early movie threads, is that I come to them hoping to find someone who's seen the movie and comment, and pretty much the entire first page is pre-movie rumors and discussion. < Sigh >

I like having all of that information (including pre-release conjecture, the rumors from around the Internet, early reviews from some critics, the scoop from Fast Learner or whoever might catch a pre-screening, and the obligatory EN World poll) in one place so that I can find them easily and reference them as many more EN Worlders see the film and form their opinions. Too often in the past I found that early reviews and rumors would get spread out for a month preceding a movie over several threads and, of course, once the film comes out we wind up with two competing threads because someone has one thread going and someone else starts up a thread with a rating poll. There were a few movies this year on which I really didn't feel like juggling several (or more) threads. Still, you and Dark Jezter have convinced me to cease and desist with the early movie threads. Besides, I think Sin City, Hitchhiker's, and Kingdom of Heaven were the three big flicks I was geared up about this year, so the point is moot.

I'm leaning more and more towards just renting this one after all. My expectations are pretty mixed based on the reviews I've seen and the comments here.

I'm leaning more toward needing to see it on the big screen because my primary interest is the battle sequences. Maybe there will be an IMAX version...

 

[johnsemlak]

I think Kingdom of Heaven may suffer from following a large number of pseudo-historical epics (Troy, King Arthur, and Alexander). People may simply be tired of them, or may have thought that the similar films were mediocre.

 

[Abraxas]

Just saw it, give it an 8.
[SBLOCK]It didn't paint all christians as evil, blood thristy wackos, it just showed some people using religion as an excuse for doing evil things. The fact that the story is shown primarily from the crusader's side just means we get to see more "so called" christians acting this way, they do however show a few muslim character's acting in a similar manner[/SBLOCK]

 

[The_lurkeR]

Well surprise, I did end up seeing it this weekend. When I was going to visit my parents for Mothers Day, they were on their way to the film so I decided to tag along.

Having gone in with lowered expectations, I'm torn now on how to rate it. The story while interesting, just didn't grab me, and neither did the characters. Actually the most interesting character I thought was King Baldwin, but he isn't explored much. Balian is a bit of a cold character, and tough to empathise with. It doesn't help that his character goes from being a simple blacksmith to an "uber-mensch" overnight? He's literate, green-thumb, hydro-scientist, uncanny strategist, leader of men, and invincible swordsman overnight? It was all just a little too much.

The film opens with a rushed jumble of hard to believe sequences, then settles in for some interesting character introductions and scenery, only to unravel pretty ho-hum, exactly how you think it will to the end.

The script also left little mystery to be desired. The characters all tell you exactly what is happening, what will happen, or how you should feel. You aren't EVER going to wonder what is going on, or what is coming up, or what anyone might have meant by what they said. It's written very much on a young-adult level.

Having said all that, it was mildly entertaining, and full of eye candy that is fit for a big screen. Besides I'm a sucker for any movie with knights and swordfights. I guess I would recommend catching it for an afternoon matinee.

I'm rating it a 6.

 

[Aeric]

I gave it an 8. Beautiful sets and costuming, the battles were well-paced out...not too much in the way of character development, and Liam Neeson's part was a lot smaller than I had hoped it would be, but I found Bloom to be considerably less annoying in this film than in LotR or Troy (which, quite frankly, bored me). I would see it again if my friends invited me or something, but I probably wouldn't go on my own volition. Definitely a DVD I will buy, though.

 

[Banshee16]

Saw it and liked it, but didn't think it was extraordinary. Much better than previous pseudohistorical epics like Troy, probably not as good as LotR, but worth of comaprison at least for the battle scences.


I thought the main problem is that once King Baldwin dies, the whole direction of the movie is obvious--Raynard leads his army out to a predictable massacre, Saladin besieges Jerusalem, and the city is captured. The battle scenes are impressive, but otherwise very little happens during that last part of the film thats intriguing.[/spoiler]

Isn't that the point? That's what happened in history, isn't it?

Banshee

 

[Banshee16]

No, it was supposed to be a drama with dark comedy elements. Which it was. I never understood why some people thought it was a comedy. I guess the previews had too many humorous scenes or something.

Ah, I see...we were told it was a comedy by an associate of my girlfriend's. In all honesty, it had the "feel" of a movie I didn't think I was going to like, but she wanted to see it, since she'd been told it was fantastic. In the end, neither of us were very impressed.

Banshee

 

[johnsemlak]

Isn't that the point? That's what happened in history, isn't it?

Banshee

Oh, agreed, I can't blame the film for being preditable for (more or less) correctly protraying historical events. I guess I wish there had been a bit more depth in the portrayal.

 

[johnsemlak]

Definitely a DVD I will buy, though.

The DVD will have nearly an hour more I believe--I'm looking forward to it already.

 

[threshel]

Saw it yesterday, rated it a 7/10. A couple of things I liked: King Baldwin's portreyal is definitely how to get the most out of a guy with a mask on - Edward Norton is brilliant. The total immersion factor is huge; Ridley Scott really knows how to show you a world.
Oh, and Balian didn't learn all that stuff overnight. King Baldwin died in 1185, and Jerusalem didn't fall until 1187. That's two years that the movie passed over in two minutes. The movie actually takes place over the span of several years, although Ridley doesn't really show it well in this version.
His original cut was 3:40 (to be released to DVD next year), and the theatrical version at 2:22 feels clipped and rushed. It should with that much cut. That's the main reason I gave it a 7 and not higher.
I felt that the portreyal of Christians and Muslims was pretty fair. There was definite bad and good on both sides.
I have very high hopes for the DVD. I'm a fan of movies being as long as they need to be, and this one needed to be longer.

J