

The first crusade was the culmination of 400 years of increasing border encroachment and tension between the Islamic world and the Byzantine Empire, along with a movement of militant Christianity in Europe that until that point really hadn't been seen before, as well as the economic and political complexities of primogeniture in feudal Europe.Īnd with the crusades came the fundamental disconnect and discontent between Latin and Greek Christianity, the still existing waves made by the collapse of the Western Roman Empire centuries before, the complex identity of those in the Eastern Roman Empire and how they viewed Europeans, their shock at the barbarity of the crusaders and the violent clashes that occurred between the two.Īt the time Kingdom Of Heaven is set they could have explored how the citizens and rulers of the crusader states viewed themselves, which is to say not as Europeans anymore after a century of cultural fusion.
#Kingdom of heaven 2005 cast movie
The crusades are a great opportunity for a movie or series that actually explores the complex politics behind them. I disagree, no more depressing than any movie about war anyways. Latest Discussions No Time To Die Venom: Let There Be Carnage Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings David Lowery Martin CampbellĪ realistic depiction of the 1st and 2nd crusades would be nothing short of depressing
#Kingdom of heaven 2005 cast full
Our Full Rules and Wiki Filter Posts by Link FlairĬlick 'spoiler' after posting something to give it a spoiler tag! The post will then be hidden like this.įor leaked info about upcoming movies, twist endings, or anything else spoileresque, please use the following method: This entry was posted in Movie Reviews and tagged Action, Adventure, Drama, History, K, religion, Ridley Scott, War. While it’s not the vapid experience “Troy” was, or the utterly grueling experience “Alexander” was, “Kingdom of Heaven” even with its great cast and top notch directing is just a mediocre, stolid, and repetitive attempt to cash in on this weak fad.

How many times can we see this same film based on a repetitive formula of storytelling consisting of battle, romance, battle, sub-plot, battle, conflict, battle, inspirational speech, lather, rinse, and repeat? “Kingdom of Heaven” is sadly an exhausting and bloated crusade’s film that really doesn’t rise above the rest and rambles on for too long accomplishing nothing except cashing in on the fad. A young man who is a skilled warrior but a mere peasant, rises to knighthood as a true warrior to defend his kingdom, while romancing the local beautiful girl, etc. But when you compare it to the empty experience of “Troy” or the painful journey of “Alexander”, it looks like a reasonable alternative, but standing alone, it’s just more of the same. Though Norton’s face is covered the entire time, it’s still a memorable performance. But one of the stand outs is basically from Edward Norton who gives a very good and bittersweet performance as the leper King Baldwin who finds himself dying slowly while his kingdom rapidly fades. One thing you can’t really begrudge Scott’s rather ambitious epic for is its utterly appealing cast of talented actors from Orlando Bloom, and Liam Neeson. Most times the elements of a film are so well done that I could care less if it was just another type of piece of the genre, but most of “Kingdom of Heaven” is too bogged down in the conventions of its genre to be anything more than mediocre. And the reason for that is that it has the same elements all of the other films before it have possessed. “Kingdom of Heaven” is just another sword and sandal epic, except not as long as the aforementioned titles. Even with Ridley Scott at the helm, I was just so disappointed. After the tepid “Troy” and the awful “Alexander”, I was hoping “Kingdom of Heaven” would be a change in pace.
