Kingdom Of Heaven (2005) Dir: Ridley Scott
Updated: Oct 2
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As someone who holds a keen interest in history, I was extremely intrigued by the prospect of Ridley Scott's 2005 historical war film. It is loosely based on the story of Balian I of Ibelin, but I knew that there would no doubt be liberties taken, though, in truth, it is hard to know the exact truth of events so far removed from the present.
I was especially interested to see how the film would interpret the relationships between the different religions in the film, given the volatile nature of the land, its people, and of religion in general, especially during the times depicted in the film. What was refreshing to see was that Scott chose not to glorify any side, but instead showed the ugliness of all.
As is almost universally the case in Ridley Scott's films, the set and costume designs were truly wonderful, which meant that the audience's immersion could be at its utmost, especially when considering the exquisite world-building that was done alongside all this.
The film had some immensely good editing, at times - particularly in regards to some of the cuts and dissolves, which were excellent. However, not all of it was so strong - I am never really a fan of when footage is slowed down to the point where footage because a little choppy, rather than smooth. That may just be personal taste though, in fairness.
I would also like to praise the film's score, which was mainly composed by Harry Gregson-Williams, and combined music of medieval, Middle Eastern and classical influences, to provide a comprehensive and enveloping soundtrack to a film of such varied culture and scope.
The film contained some epic and bloody violence, though it must be said that much of it was perhaps rather gratuitous, as these films inevitably are. From a cinematic point of view, however, the action scenes must be praised. The battle sequences felt akin to those in 'Lord Of The Rings', in terms of scale and quality.
Orlando Bloom led a truly talented and stacked cast, with his leading performance being of exceptional quality. In fact, I would go so far as to say it is one of my favourite examples of his acting to-date. He was a brilliant casting choice, and felt very natural in such a role.
Eva Green was as elegant as ever. I really enjoyed how she portrayed her character; both with poise and vulnerability. I liked that she had some depth to her, unlike a lot of female characters in war films. Green gave the character even more life with her typically very emotive facial expressions.
Jeremy Irons, David Thewlis, Edward Norton and Ghassan Massoud all deserve a lot of praise for their respective performances. They were all very respectable, and Irons in particular felt very memorable, in my opinion.
The other man who deserves a lot of praise for how memorable he made himself was Brendan Gleeson, who is so underrated. I will also give quick mentions to Marton Csokas, Liam Neeson and Michael Sheen for their various roles.
Overall, I thought that this was a very high quality film, for the most part. The subject matter is always tentative, but I don't think the film took a particular stance, instead showing a fairly unbiased depiction of the events. There were some very small issues here and there, but, on the whole, it was an enthralling and epic watch.
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