I finally got around to seeing Kingdom of Heaven. (The director’s cut, for those keeping score.)
And, well, what is there to say? It wasn’t awful by any means, although it suffered greatly from the usual Hollywood tropes.
Balain of Ibalin, played by quiet, distinctly not-medieval Orlando Bloom, is a blacksmith in France. His previously unknown father shows up to take him on a crusader adventure to Jersusalem around the era of the 2nd Crusade. At first he declines, but his brother prods him about his dead wife. After throwing the priest into the fire he finds Liam Neeson and begins his hero quest into the bowls of crusader Europe.
Liam Neeson kept the beginning from being too boring and he hass had enough practice being the mentor (Cough, Batman, Cough) that it carried admirably. The whole ‘Ibalin needs forgiveness’ theme got old quick and tends to fall apart as soon as you have a knight hacking people apart, but trying to protect the muslims. Either he’s a crusader killing for glory and heaven or he’s not. Only in Hollywood is the perfect knight a butcher and a race-blind saint.
Jeremy Irons, always a pleasure to watch, didn’t get a lot of face time, but he had the honor of introducing the political and social issues, which they managed to depict more astutely than expected. Baldwin the King of Jerusalem has leprosy, there’s a tenuous peace between the Christians and the Muslims, the knights templars led by Guy of Lusignan (Marton Csokas) and Raynald of Chatillon (Brendan Gleeson) are causing problems. The doubtful and adolescent heir of Princess Sibylla (the ever gorgeous Eva Green), puts the whole kingdom in a precarious state of near chaos.
Enter Orlando Bloom, now as a crusader champion. He takes command of his father’s estate (Liam Neeson), managsto miraculously turn it into a thriving barony complete with small children playing in the newly dug irrigation ditches. Apparently everyone else who lived there for thousands of years forgot how to dig a well.
The ending is held together by the historical politics, which make for a rousing tale of crusader glory, Saladin’s respectful and pious heroics, and the turbulance of the household. Unfortunately, instead of letting the story tell itself, good ol Balin has to make everyone a knight and save Jerusalem. He negotiates a safe end to the crusader kingdom and finds inner peace, but only after slaying twice the population of Antioch in a final siege that stands as an admirable battle scene, but a rather silly note in Ibalin’s story.
The whole things wraps together with Balain going back home to france with Eva Green (apparently, he’s not wanted for murder anymore?) and shrugging off King Richard the Lionhearted who gets a cameo.
Overall I enjoyed the movie. I’m well aware that it is getting on four years old now, but it hadn’t passed by me yet. Seeing Jerusalem in its crusader glory was worth the wait and it is certainly a very pretty movie. They even managed to court the political nuances of the age without dropping too much.
My only complaint is the main character. If they’d stayed true to the time, Ibalin would have been a heroic knight and soldier, and even courteous with the muslim factions, but not nearly as tolerant and ‘modern’ as they made him. His return home would have been as an exhausted crusader warrior, not as a newly absolved lover ready to start a new life. The speeches about finding forgiveness in the holy land fell pretty flat and were entirely unnecessary. The drama of the age and of the personalities was more than enough to tell a good story. Throwing in the usual Hollywood niceties of the hero getting the girl, learning a lesson, and living happily ever after just dumbs down the whole affair.
Still, it’s a good flick. The director’s cut was three hours, so a bit long, but it has an intermission. Worth watching on DVD if you’re bored and want to see the crusaders on film.
