Kingdom of Heaven - Director's Cut (a review by Number Three)

I like epic Gladiator-type movies. So, of course, I went to see Kingdom of Heaven when it first hit the theaters. After all, it was helmed by one of earth’s greatest filmmakers working today and it featured a strong cast and a big budget. “Letdown” is the word that comes to mind. But, lest you think any ill of Mr. Scott, allow me to rant for a moment: Ridley got utterly screwed over by the production company (which I won’t name here). Not only did they gravely mis-market it as a love story, which it’s not, but they strong-armed him into chopping the ever-loving thunder out of the movie to the point that KEY characters were completely missing in the theatrical release.

Okay, end of rant. What this all leads up to is the fact that you can see the movie Ridley Scott meant for you to see on DVD, because a director’s cut has been released. Let me just say that these two films are like night and day. If you saw the theatrical release, forget about it. They are not the same movie. I encourage everyone to see this movie (provided you can handle Gladiator-esque fare).

Here’s the basic story: the Crusaders have occupied Jerusalem for decades, and a fragile peace exists between the Arab Muslims and the European Christians. Enter the religious/political zealot who is positioned to snap the tightly stretched rubber band of peace, because to him, religious warring is better than flawed attempts at getting along with your enemy. Enter the fascinating circumstances of the present ruler of Jerusalem and his heirs (circumstances I won’t give away here). Enter the story of a broken man that is really the story of every man in that time, as his search for redemption and purpose bring him to Jerusalem. What you have here is a whole universe developed before your eyes; a universe that is both fiction and history.

Orlando Bloom holds his own, and the side characters are deep, rich and fully-developed. There is no skimping on character development but at the same time, no boredom.

Is the movie even-handed? Not perfectly, but everyone has their own take on this part of history, and I didn’t find the writer’s own bent too distracting. Characters from both sides of the conflict were shown as genuine, and neither side was particularly demonized. After I saw this movie, I reflected a bit on the present times and found it to be quite apropos. Substitute “Christianity” for “Democracy” and “Jerusalem” for “Middle East” and you have a whole new set of Crusades for today. I hope we don’t make the same mistakes, but the hard reality that the movie shows so well is the humanity of men; a humanity that is all too inhuman all too often.

If you want to be entertained Gladiator style and also be left with something to think about, see Kingdom of Heaven: Director’s Cut.

Mouthspeak is the overall cleverness, realness, and impact of the dialog and human interchange, and watchfeel is the overall aesthetics and impact of the visuals. Averaging these produces the mouthfeel, which judges the overall watchablility of the film.

Number Three’s Score:
Mouthspeak: 13
Watchfeel: 18
Mouthfeel: 15.5

Number Three