Movie: Kingdom of Heaven

	Distributor:	20th Century Fox
	Release:	May 6, 2005
	Genre:	Action/Adventure, Drama
	MPAA Rating:	R for strong violence and epic warfare

If you're a fan of Orlando Bloom, I bet you made it a point to see this movie.

My friend is one and she calls him her "boyfriend". No, she's no psycho yet, but I bet she'll be a stalker if Bloom happens to be walking in our city. An ideal gift for her would be a large poster of Orlando Bloom. She already has a photo of him in her wallet.

Bloom plays the lead character in this movie, and his supporting cast are notable actors like Liam Neeson, Jeremy Irons, David Thewlis (who I last saw in Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban), Brendan Gleeson (who I WILL see in Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire), and Edward Norton (you don't see his face but you sure notice his acting). Bloom has appeared in previous movies with 2 of his co-actors here - Gleeson was in Troy, and Csokas, who plays the antagonist, was in the Lord of the Rings trilogy.

If the acting in this movie relied on Bloom, the movie would have sucked. There, I've said it. I wish it were otherwise. My friend who's a die-hard Orlando fan even admits it. I think the character of Balian should have been performed by a "forceful" actor. If Bloom was unsure how to attack his character, it definitely showed in this movie. There are scenes wherein he got the emotions right, then there are scenes wherein I think he was just following the director who said "okay, now stand there then walk here, say these lines...". Know what I mean? Either Bloom was unwilling to let go of his emotions or he has no reserve of memories/experiences to draw the emotions from. His bland face fitted Legolas only because Tolkien's elves were supposedly more calm than humans would be.

Thank goodness for the presence of more seasoned actors. Neeson appeared only at the start, but it was memorable. Irons played Tiberias well, though the character didn't exist historically. Massoud played Saladin as a great war general, worthy to be admired (which is probably true).

Norton as the leper king, Baldwin, was very good. He was wearing a mask all the time, and yet he was able to convey expressions normally seen on the face with small gestures of his hand, or with slight tilting of the head.

Csokas and Gleeson may have overly done their characterization of the Templars (or the real personages they played are just horrendous people).

If a movie must have its antagonist/s to play against the protagonist/s, the bad guys in this movie are the Templars, not the Muslim. If you've read reviews of this film, you'd know by now that this film offended some Christians (for the supposed zealousness to wage war against Muslims) and Muslims (for being portrayed as somewhat stupid in some scenes - although Saladin's offer of physicians to Baldwin underlines the fact that they were advanced medically). Was the movie as unsure of its stand as Bloom was unsure of how to act?

You cannot call this a historically accurate movie, either. Historians (of which I am not) can pinpoint a lot of mistakes - but they are swept under the rug by the technicality called artistic license. A number of characters did not exist, like Tiberias and Godfrey of Ibelin. Some characters whose names could be found in history were not portrayed accurately either. Balian was not a blacksmith fresh from France - he grew up in the Holy Land (or the area thereabout). Sibylla never left her husband for Balian, if ever they had an affair (no affair has been recorded in history).

I did like the battle scenes. The viewer is reminded how ugly war is, and why it is to be avoided. At the same time, one is instructed on the hows of ancient warfare and weaponry. The cinematography was good, as it brought richness to the depiction of life in the Holy Land during the Crusades.

This movie didn't win critics' nods, especially Bloom's acting (I agree with the critics on this one). But it isn't an all out loser.