Review of Kingdom of Heaven (2005) by Samuel H — 18 Nov 2013

As far as a being good representation of the Crusades, this movie is one of the best. However, concerning plot and depth, "Kingdom of Heaven" is certainly lacking. One of my biggest problems with the movie is the fact that we are expected to believe that because Balian's father (whom he has never known) asks him to serve the King (on his deathbed), that the entirety of Balian's life will be built upon filling his fathers shoes.

HE DOESN'T EVEN KNOW THE MAN. Heck, we don't even know the man. There is no drive or desire for us to want to fulfill his wishes and yet the entire movie is predicated upon Balian's response.

Then, the next couple scenes are absurd. We are expected to believe that Balian just happens to be the only man to survive a shipwreck, along with, of course, a completely unharmed horse. Then he manages to find water in the desert and survive multiple other impossible odds in fighting throughout the movie.

It must be said though, if you can overlook all of this, and all of the "Hollywood" influences. You will find a masterfully presented take and view of the war itself. In fact the war scenes are stunning, although again, not altogether realistic.

Still the plot parallels the events of the war well enough. And the fighting alone is worth a watch. The acting isn't half bad either. However, because of the aforementioned flaws I must give this movie 3 stars.

With a little work, it could have been a masterpiece.