KINGDOM OF HEAVEN (2005)

Director: Ridley Scott

I haven’t seen the “real” version but only the Extended Directors Cut of KINGDOM OF HEAVEN.

The film is about a blacksmith-turned-knight who finds himself fighting both Christian knights as well as Saladin’s Muslim warriors.

If I was a Christian American, I might have found this concept extremely interesting in times like these, but now I am Swedish and not particularly interested in the conflicts between Christians and Muslims, so for me it becomes a bit dull and partly obvious.

I love knights and films that try to portray knights within a true heraldic sense, and KINGDOM OF HEAVEN actually does a pretty good job there. The costumes, weaponry and armory are all very true and the heraldic symbols nicely put together.

Also the casting and acting is very nice.

The bad things – which is also this films largest problems – lies within the story itself and the directing. Sure, it is a visually nice (not stunning) movie, but it is extremely overlong and parts of it are just repeating itself and feels unnecessary and out of place. The first hour and a half, would have, in any other film, been concluded within 10-30 minutes. I am not particularly found of the super-slow pace in the films start, which makes the ending too feel slow since you’re pretty tired then and wants it all to end.

The end battle is not very well done. Scott wants to show a siege over a few days, but it doesn’t work in the movie. It just makes the battle feel like a cut-up action-sequence and completely ruins the battle pace. This is truly not a new GLADIATOR and if you have any needs for cool action, then this flick will be a great disappointment.

For anyone who wants to watch a 3-hour drama with knights and dust, then this is your kind of film. Especially if you’re interested in a movie that shows Christians and Muslim as equally stupid and equally brave. The film does a very good job to show that neither side is evil or good – but that there are good and evil people among them both. This is a nice break from the regular slur you get from lower budgeted movies, and this is also the reason why I give it a 6 out of 10 instead of a 4 or 5.

The action sequences – few but nice – are entertaining. Historically, this is just a piece of bull, but as a tired piece of entertainment, with good actors, it is a fine film.

I am not sure on what Scott’s intentions were with this movie, and I sure won’t try to find out. This is not a film you will watch again. Watching it once is nice, but lets leave it with that. Not a classic, but at least average.

Score: 6