Kingdom of Heaven is about Bailan, a young blacksmith who is haunted by the suicide of his wife after the birth of their stillborn child in rural France.
Baron Godfrey of Ibelin is a Crusader who rides through the village and introduces himself as Bailan’s out of wedlock father. He invites him to join him onto his way to the Holy Land. Bailan declines, but after finding out that the town priest beheaded his wife as she was a suicide, and stole her necklace, Bailan kills him and joins the Knights on their quest.
They are ambushed as men are sent to capture Bailan for the murder. While defending themselves, Godfrey is injured and near death, makes Bailan a Knight and his heir. His father charges him to protect the helpless and to serve the King of Jerusalem.
Its an interesting film, and I wasn’t sure I would like it or not. Sadly, this is not the full story. The uncut version which is the true version of the film, makes more sense but sadly I didn’t receive it.
Orlando Bloom has mean and moody down to a T, and i found his restrained acting charming. When he doesn’t say anything and just emotes from his body language, its amazing. Liam Neeson, Jeremy Irons and an unrecognisable Edward Norton as the King of Jerusalem make this film worthwhile, even if the story goes on a bit.
The battle scenes are epic and bloody. Not one for those who are squeamish.
The Syrian actor who played Saladin was amazing and the portrayal of the Muslims wasn’t too bad. I liked the way they spoke Arabic to make it more authentic.
The star for me was Eva Green though, because her character of Sibylla, Princess of Jerusalem, was amazing. When she was on screen, she owned it and made the character her own.
Good film, but not for me.
Random fact: Orlando Bloom gained 20 pounds
4 out of 5 stars.
