11th May, 2005

DAVID ADAMS

"Sadly this is no 'Gladiator', thanks at least in part to a script that tries to do too much and instead of concentrating on providing a window to another age, attempts to make a statement about modern Middle East politics."

Kingdom of Heaven (M)

It was a violent and uncertain age and Ridley Scott’s latest epic - this time set in medieval Europe and the Middle East - provides an intriguing glimpse into life in the eleventh century and the Crusades. Yet despite what should be a strong cast - with the likes of Orlando Bloom, Jeremy Irons, Liam Neeson and Edward Norton - Kingdom of Heaven ultimately fails to live up to expectation. Much like Scott’s previous Roman age epic Gladiator, Kingdom of Heaven follows the story of a single man - in this case a blacksmith, Ballan (played by Bloom) - who leaves a home full of bad memories in France and begins a journey with his recently discovered father, a crusader knight by the name of Godfrey of Ibelin (played by Liam Neeson) who has been living in the Middle East for some years, to the Holy Land. Not all on the journey goes to plan but Ballan arrives in Jerusalem as a knight and soon encounters the movie’s love interest - Sibylla, played by Eva Green - as well as finding himself caught up in local politics as the leperous (and unseen) King of Jerusalem (played by Norton) struggles to keep the the Knights Templar, led by Guy de Lusignan (Marton Csokas), in check while trying to keep the peace with the Saracens led by the warrior Saladin (Ghassan Massoud). But the king ultimately fails and the plot inexorably wends it’s way to a final confrontation between the Crusaders and the Saracens (one in which, it has to be said, Ballan plays an improbably significant role). But sadly this is no Gladiator, thanks at least in part to a script that tries to do too much and instead of concentrating on providing a window to another age, attempts to make a statement about modern Middle East politics. Suggestions made during production that Scott was trying to be too politically correct are borne out and the movie suffers greatly as a result, not least in the reduction of some characters - watch for the Templar lord, Reynard de Chatillon (Brendan Gleeson) - to little more than badly crafted caricatures. Still, that all said, Kingdom of Heaven is worth a look for lovers of the epic genre - it’s a big screen movie with some stunning visuals and one that no home theatre will do justice to.