KINGDOM OF HEAVEN
Kingdom of Heaven was pretty good. Even better
praise: it's credible.
I'm no historian or theologian but I have some working knowledge
of the Crusades and Kingdom of Heaven did a fine job of hitting
the high points of the events that lead to the Third Crusade: Reynald of Chatillon kidnapping Saladin's sister,
King Baldwin IV dying of leprosy, Guy of Lusignan becoming King
of Jerusalem and royally fucking up, leading his army to a slaughter
and losing the Battle of Hattin and the True Cross to Saladin, Saladin
retaking Jerusalem for the Muslims. A Crusader named Balian, the
character played by Orlando Bloom, did defend Jerusalem and surrendered
it to Saladin, though he didn't run off to France with Queen Sibylla.
But even then, Kingdom of Heaven displayed an admirable amount of
verisimilitude, certainly far more than Gladiator, Sir Ridley
Scott's last foray into the historical epic.
The movie felt authentic enough. Short of a real Doc Brown actually
inventing the flux capacitor and putting it in a DeLorean, we'll
never know exactly what the Crusades of a thousand years ago looked
like, but Kingdom of Heaven seems to be a believable depiction of
that time period. It's not retarded like Troy, boring like
King Arthur, or as flaming as Alexander, that's for
sure.
Orlando Bloom wasn't the ideal leading man for this sort
of picture but he worked hard and didn't embarrass himself. He didn't
have the presence perhaps his character could have benefited from,
but the movie compensated - as the son of Liam Neeson's character,
Godfrey of Ibelin, everywhere Orlando went, he met someone who knew
his father. "You're Liam Neeson's son? He was a good man. I
guess you're all right." "I loved your father. I will
love you as well." Good thing for Orlando his father wasn't
an asshole. Rarely has a young man benefited more from being his father's son. Luke Skywalker is as green as his lightsaber with envy.
The first act or so felt a little like an Xbox role playing game.
Orlando kept meeting people who gave him a little speech about virtue
or religion or evil and offering him choices. It was like Knights
of the Old Republic or Fable - Choose your path! Orlando
was pretty set on playing the game as a babyface though; he never
strayed from his promise to his father that he'd be a good knight,
a man of conscience.
Late in the picture, Orlando gives what would generously be called
a controversial speech for a Crusader Knight in defense of Jerusalem
when he announced to his army that the Christians have no more righteous
claim to the Holy Land than the Muslims do. That's some progressive
thinking for a Crusader, but the movie was steadfastly in the corner
of personal responsibility and honor over blind devotion to religion
and the violence and sadism done in God's name. Which is a lot of
what the Crusades were largely about on both sides.
I appreciated the movie's depiction of Saladin as well.
Saladin by historical accounts was a fair and just king, as much
as a king could be in that time and place. He was known for his
generosity and character, although he was vicious when crossed.
The way the movie depicted the surrender of Jerusalem, Orlando Bloom
got a pretty good deal from Saladin. In actual history, Saladin
did allow all the Christians to leave the city without getting slaughtered,
although there was taxation and payment involved for their lives.
I wish the movie did more to depict just how monumental a moment
it was for Saladin and the Muslims when they reclaimed Jerusalem
after a century of Crusader control. It was one of the greatest
triumphs and moments of Saladin's life. In the movie, Saladin acted
like he'd just bought a new house that was a fixer upper. But even
then, it's good that movie audiences get some idea of who Saladin
was. I'm a Saladin mark, I think he was pretty cool. Also cool was
Alexander Siddig was Saladin's right hand man. He had the
genetically engineered Dr. Bashir from Deep Space Nine
at his side, how could Saladin lose?
I was a lot more interested in the depiction of history and the
progression of the story than in the requisite action sequences.
We've seen enough sword and horse battles in this last year alone
to last our generation of moviegoers for several years, although
the strategy involved in the key battle for Jerusalem was communicated
effectively and intriguingly. I didn't particularly care for Orlando
Bloom or any of the characters and I certainly wasn't moved emotionally
by anything like I was for Russell Crowe's anguish at the murder
of his family and his spiritual reunion with them when he died in Gladiator. Maybe Orlando Bloom should have died... It's a nice thought.
They should do a prequel: Kingdom of Heaven: The First Crusade,
where the movie ends with the Christians slaughtering every Muslim
and Jew in Jerusalem, wading waist deep in blood while singing praises
to God. I think audiences are ready for it.
From the Friday estimates, it looks like Kingdom of Heaven will
outgross House of Wax after all. There is a God.
- John Orquiola (reviewed 5/7/2005)
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