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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Banshee16" data-source="post: 2661015" data-attributes="member: 7883">I really liked it.  Awesome costumes and good special effects, and despite some views to the contrary, the story I thought was pretty good.  It was deeper than Gladiator, though I don't feel that it had as much raw appeal as Gladiator did.It's based on historical events.  Of course, they've been twisted for a political message, but it's the first Crusades-era movie I've seen or heard of, so I thought it was pretty cool.  And it had both Templars and Hospitallers in it, which is neat. I find a big flaw in the movie, for those who aren't familiar with the history is the lack of explanation on some things.  When they introduce one of the characters who is a Hospitaler, they don't give any explanation of what that means, or why he's wearing chainmail and a sword, but giving the last rites.  So people who haven't done any reading about the topic won't pick up on it.  At other times, they don't bother to show that time is passing, so it looks like the main character goes from a blacksmith to a skilled swordsman in 3 days, when in fact the journey (and his training) probably took months.Then there's the whole thing with manipulating the perceptions of the two sides, when things weren't nearly so clear-cut.  But given the political climate of the times, I guess that's to be expected (though maybe not excused) to a degree.Overall, I really liked it though.  I don't feel that it got a fair shake in the box office within North America, though it was more popular in Europe by a fair amount.I'm interesting in finding out what they do in the director's cut next year.  Was the theatrical release white washed because it would be seen by many?  If so, would the director's cut be better?  Who knows.  I've heard they've got enough material for a 4-hour director's cut that is a lot more intense than what is being released on this DVD.Banshee</blockquote>

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