Ridley Scott's newest film depicts the Crusades through the eyes of Balian (Orlando Bloom), son of Godfrey (Liam Neeson), who goes onto to Jerusalem looking for redemption for himself and forgiveness for his wife who committed suicide. There, he finds the court divided between the Marshall Tiberias (Jeremy Irons) who wants to promote peace between the Christians and the Islamic and the fanatic Templars who feel only Christians are worthy of living in Jerusalem. Soon, the Templars prevoke a war with the Islamic and it's up to Balian to protect Jerusalem from the massive army arriving.
I was surprised how well Orlando Bloom worked in the role, this being one of his first leading roles. On the other hand, I was disappointed that Liam Neeson pulled a Terrance Stamp by only appearing in the first twenty minutes of the movie. Jeremy Irons and David Thewlis were also impressive. So was Scott's decision to use Muslin actors to protray, you know, Muslims!
According to an A&E special, most of the story actually follows what actually happened historically. The movie also carefully depicts both sides, Christianity and Islam, and how there were both good and bad people on BOTH sides. The only real problem can from one Christian priest during the big battle at the end who seemed very cowardly and, well, unChristian-like almost to the point of becoming the comedic relief. Reynald and Guy de Lusignan seemed at times to hover on the edge of becoming full-blown two dimensional stereotypical villains that everyone hisses at.
Also, the love story aspect seems to be pretty neglected at times, favoring the historical/political maneuverings and the massive battles over Orlando Bloom and Eva Green smooching.
Ridley Scott is still great at creating mood and atmosphere, even if it's ambient synthesizer music during Medieval Times. His slow-mo "gut-and-splash" style is pretty much what he did with Gladiator. Speaking of... Some critics will eagerly point out the similarities, both stylistically and story-wise, between the two movies.
I enjoyed this movie, which lets you draw your own conclusions in the matters of war and religion. B
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I also liked the music which balances the eastern music with western music. I was surprised to see the inclusion of music from other soundtracks like Goldsmith and Revell. I think Godfrey's character was strong in the movie and should have appeared in the movie more. Balian's role was admirable, but seemed to not get too indepth. He's a great natural leader and a great speaker, but we miss learning more about him as a man by missing out on his relationship with the queen. Though by the end of the movie we can see that Balian doesn't want the glory and power that attracts other people to Jerusalem. I also agree that it was interesting to see both sides claiming God to be on their side and that there were those who worked to maintain peace, and those who wanted to fight. Obviously much to think about for our world's conflicts, as well as the conflicts we encounter in our own lives. We hope to be like Balian and choose to act honorably in all we do, to protect and serve others, and to leave the world a better place- no matter how simple our act.
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