Kingdom of Heaven

Kingdom of Heaven is Ridley Scott's way of trying to recapture the success of Gladiator and to turn Orlando Bloom into the international sensation and instant leading man that Crowe became after is Oscar winning performance in that Gladiator. I don't fault Bloom for trying. I know he had to be thinking how could he lose? Sure it's an epic drama and none of the other recently released historical epics (including his Troy) have come anywhere near the success of Gladiator, but Dreams has Ridley Scott, Gladiator's mastermind at the helm, he couldn't go wrong?right? Well, that's not exactly what happened. See someone forgot to tell Orlando that he's not Russell Crowe. And while he looked damn good in those elf ears, it takes much more then a pretty face to pull off an epic drama the likes of Kingdom of Heaven and unfortunately for us all Bloom just doesn't have it.

I hate to criticize Orlando. I do. I think he's gorgeous and love to watch him on the big screen and he's not a bad actor he just doesn't have the acting chops or the screen presence to be convincing as the salvation of a nation. Heaven tells the story of Balian (Bloom) a lowly blacksmith who has lost his child and then his wife to suicide. He soon learns he has a nobleman for a father who has returned to recruit him on his journey to go and fight the holy Crusades and save Jerusalem from falling back into the hands of the Muslims led by the historic military leader Saladin. Agreeing to go in hopes of being able to atone for his wife's suicide, he soon learn that knowing one's enemy isn't as clear as knowing where your religious beliefs lie.

Outside of Bloom not having what it takes to carry the roll of Balian, Heaven doesn't work because the story is choppy and unclear. Scott decides to tell several stories: the jockeying for power amongst the Christians, the tenuous treaty between King Leopold and Saladin, Saladin and his relationship with his people, and an unnecessary love story that only seems to be there so there can be an excuse to see a semi-nude Orlando and instead of seeming interesting and entertaining it all just came across as one big convoluted mess.

Instead of all of these mini tales the movie would have been much more interesting had it just focused on Saladin's and Balian's grudging but shared respect for one another and the battle over Jerusalem. Instead we are left with a lot of unnecessary screen time filled by boring sub-plots and a badly used Edward Norton who is stuck behind a tin mask mumbling for a good portion of the movie. Talk about bad use of an actor, Norton would have made a much better Balianl then Bloom and might have been able to stir up some emotions and excitement where Orlando could not.

Despites these gaffes, Kingdom of Heaven does offer some notable performances namely Jeffrey Irons who plays Tiberius a battle weary Sheriff of Jerusalem and commander of his own troops who is vehemently opposed to breaking the treaty they have with Saladin and David Thewalis the Hospitaler and Balian's father's friend and subsequently the one who helps Balian become the man his father wanted him to be.

While relatively entertaining, Kingdom of Heaven is ultimately a disappointment. I expected more out of Bloom but I really expected a great deal more out of Scott, after all he is the guy who brought us Gladiator and help turn Russell Crowe into a house hold name. Unfortunately, for everyone Kingdom of Heaven is no Gladiator.

Tamika Johnson is a freelance writer and owner of PrologueReviews.com. To read more reviews by Tamika or to have your book, movie or film reviewed visit http://www.prologuereviews.com

---

Reconstrictionism + Dominionism = Warfare Theology

The Christian Church believes that at the close of the... Read More

Church Building and Church Buildings

Church building is a term used to designate both the... Read More

Majesty Works

Webster's dictionary explains majesty meaning a title used to speaking... Read More

Cut Off Your Hand!

Cut off your Hand!Arguably the most bizarre command of Christ... Read More

Top Ten Religion Quotations

Review your religious beliefs with these revealing quotations all about... Read More

Pagan Philosophy, Unbelief, and Irrationalism

Biblically speaking, holding philosophical beliefs that contain internally self-refuting contradictions... Read More

Planetary Alignment

Planetary Alignment is said to have magical powers. Some believe... Read More

Revealing

It is written in Revelation 1:1 The revelation of Jesus... Read More

Building a Church and Church Building Designs

Building a church is a large project that is more... Read More

Homo-sexuality and Christianity

Romans 1:16-1:32. Can there be a compromise between the two:... Read More

It is Written: Alien Invasion of Planet Earth PART ONE

IT IS WRITTEN. Satanic Panic and the Alien Connection -... Read More

Be Careful How You Live -- Ephesians 5:15-20

There is a sharp contrast in Ephesians between the "light"... Read More

Rapture and the United States in the End times Explained

1. Where is the Rapture in all of this? There... Read More

7 Seal Judgements Continued

These 7 judgments will more than likely occur during the... Read More

The Tsunami: A Wake-up Call

In looking back on the year that has just ended-a... Read More

Falsehoods

There are many different church denominations in this year of... Read More

123 ABC Numbers in the Bible Simply Amazing

Underneath the Hebrew and Chaldee of the Old Testament and... Read More

The Fruit, the Whole Fruit, and Nothing but the Fruit

Once we become a new creature in Christ, we are... Read More

Let Her Be Covered Part Three

Now, let's recall again the text: "Let her be covered."... Read More

Letters from Christ: the Calligraphy of the Spirit

Their reasoning must have been, "This is the precious gospel... Read More

Firstfruit from Death Guarantees the Coming Harvest

The farmer handed buckets to us, the blueberry pickers. "You're... Read More

Jesus Christ, King of the Jews

In 132 CE, Simon Bar Kosiba organized and led a... Read More

Doctors of the Air

We met at a Saturday afternoon fund-raising and promotional rally... Read More

Heretical Chinese House Churches

One of the more insightful warnings Christians can receive bears... Read More

The Holy Spirit is our Teacher

Now that we know God and Jesus want to release... Read More

The Face of Deceit

Jeremiah 14:14-14:14. What is Deceit? The intentional misleading or beguiling... Read More

America for War

The Americans themselves billed the vote for now President George... Read More

Jesus Our King: Priest Forever After The Order Of Melchizedek

Much confusion surrounds the person of one "Melchizedek" found in... Read More

A Worship Leader is a Spiritual Leader

This article is for worship leaders. And as such, I... Read More

Islam Embraces the New Pope

The European Union has seen a huge influx of Muslims... Read More

Ultimate Truth:The Invitation

Religion is so many things. From what we can see... Read More

While the World is on Fire - Part Two

Luke 19:49-19:46 This world is a tender box, of political,... Read More

Are You Doing the Good Part?

Just compare yourself to these two sisters.Even though they were... Read More