Kingdom of Heaven

Kingdom of Heaven is Ridley Scott抯 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抰 fault Bloom for trying. I know he had to be thinking how could he lose? Sure it抯 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抯 mastermind at the helm, he couldn抰 go wrong卹ight? Well, that抯 not exactly what happened. See someone forgot to tell Orlando that he抯 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抰 have it.

I hate to criticize Orlando. I do. I think he抯 gorgeous and love to watch him on the big screen and he抯 not a bad actor he just doesn抰 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抯 suicide, he soon learn that knowing one抯 enemy isn抰 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抰 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抯 and Balian抯 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抯 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