127.
Kingdom of Heaven
7/10
Another film based around religion, this time following a crusader noble on his travels to Jerusalem. Once there he finds himself defending the city and its people, against impossible odds. This film boasts a great cast and from what I can see, plenty of action. Orlando Bloom, Eva Green, Liam Neeson and Jeremy Irons, to name just a few. It's time to join the crusaders and fight our way through nearly 2 and a half hours of film.
The film begins with a young woman being buried atop a cliff in France, before he heads back to a small village where a Blacksmith is clearly troubled. The woman was his wife and she committed suicide. In the distance, we see a group of crusaders heading in and one of them approaches Balian, the blacksmith, who is played by Bloom. He introduces himself as Balian's father, Baron Godfrey of Ibelin. Godfrey, played by Neeson, asks the young blacksmith to come with him to Jerusalem but if rebuffed and the crusaders are left to head on with their travels. Later that night, a priest and also Balian's brother, reveals that he had Balian's wife beheaded before the burial because it is customary for people who have committed suicide. This is taken well and Balian throws his own brother onto the fire and heads out to follow his father, as his house burns to the ground. Once he catches up with him, we have a father and son moment, as Godfrey teaches him swordsmanship. Once this is complete, along with some promise from the youngster, Balian's nephew and some soldiers show up, demanding that Balian is handed over to pay for his crimes. The request is refused and a fight ensues in which many die and Godfrey is mortally wounded. They make it to Messina, where Godfrey knights his son and orders him to travel to Jerusalem to serve the King, just before his wounds get the better of him. On his journey to the promised land, his ship heads into a storm, where it is destroyed and Balian is left washed up on a beach as the lone survivor. There is actually a horse too, but when it's released from the wreck, it runs off. He tracks it through the desert and is confronted by a Muslim and his servant. They fight over the ownership of the horse, in which Balian wins, spares the servant and asks him to guide him to Jerusalem. Once they arrive, Balian shows mercy as he releases the servant and also gives him the horse. The Muslim explains that the man who was killed is an important Knight amongst the Saracens.
Finally, in his main destination, Godfrey's retainers have accepted this new man amongst them. He is introduced to the main political leaders within this city. One, Princess Sibylla, has a husband who is a bit of a hot head and supports the acts for the anti-Muslim activities. This man wants to rule after the death of Baldwin, the King, so wants to start a war which will allow him to have the Muslims killed and claim the full kingdom for Christians alone. He and his companion, kill a Muslim trade caravan with the air of Templars. Saladin, the leader of the Muslims, attacks the companion's castle to bring the main to account for his crimes. Balian decides to protect the castle as best he can, mainly for the villagers to escape from the enemy. His knights are soon defeated and he is captured, along with some other leaders for the Christians. Led to the enemy camp, he comes across the servant that he once freed. He is actually Saladin's chancellor and he frees Balian, allowing him to enter Kerak, as the Muslim army arrives, so do Baldwin's. Baldwin wears a full outfit because he has leprosy, and the outfit is fit for any King. Him and Saladin negotiate a retreat of the Muslim forces because the King promises that Raynald, the companion to the killings, shall be punished for his crime. This travelling and event has now led Baldwin to collapse, weakened beyond repair. In his final words, he begs Balian to marry the Princess because he knows that there I some sort of affection between the two. Balian refuses because he doesn't want to be associated with the murder to the traitor, Guy, that he knows will be needed. After the King dies, Sibylla's 6 year old son becomes King. It soon becomes apparent, that he too has leprosy and instead of giving him a life behind a mask, she feeds him poison, leading her to name her husband the King of Jerusalem. He releases his friend Raynald and ask him to give him a war, which he duly delivers by killing Saladin's sister. Once Saladin sends men looking for answers, all he gets are his men killed and their heads sent back to him.
The remaining leaders now demand that war is next and the must follow their King, away from water and safety and into the desert. This also leaves Jerusalem unguarded except for Balian and his few knights. Saladin's men attack the crusaders and are easily taken apart in a bloody battle. Guy and Raynald are captured, before the latter is beheaded for his earlier crimes. Guy is spared out of tradition as the army continues to march on to Jerusalem. Everyone accepts that it is time to flee, but not Balian. He gives a speech which inspires the men and keeps them in place for the main fight. He Knights them all to raise morale and make them into better fighters. After three days, shown across minutes of pure action on all fronts, bodies lay everywhere and Saladin offers his terms and free passage for the inhabitants of Jerusalem. Balian worries if this is a lie, but is promised mercy and Guy is released back to him, where the two have a fight. As he returns from his meeting with Saladin, he enters the city over mounds of bodies and tells everyone the terms of the agreement. When he finally encounters Sybilla again, he tells her that her brother's kingdom will always be in head and heart, to which she replies that she is also a Queen of other lands. He wants her to stop being a Queen and he will come to her. As everyone leaves for their walk across the desert, Balian sees her once again and now she has renounced all of her titles, in order to start a new life. We are shown a montage of Saladin's men burning Christian books and replacing crosses around the city. Saladin himself, gently puts a cross back onto a table and refused to step on certain holy Christian areas within the city. The chancellor of Saladin returns the horse form the beginning back to Balian. He questions that if God doesn't love this young knight, how could be have done so much. Wishing each other peace. Time passes, Balian is back in his own village once more as a group of English knights ride, looking for the Defender of Jerusalem. The main man is King Richard I, played by the same guy as Jorah from Game of Thrones. It's captain friendzone! Balian replies that he is simply the blacksmith and nothing more. The men leave to retake Jerusalem as Sybilla walks down some steps towards her new love. They are seen riding past the grave of Balian's wife as they ride towards their new life. The film ends on a dark screen, stating that nearly a thousand years later and peace in the Kingdom of Heaven is still elusive.
This movie far from felt like the run time that it had. There was a great cast which all had their draws with the storyline. I didn't expect pretty much non-stop violence and that aspect I loved. When it came to the political side, I did find myself wanting the story to speed up a little, to get back to some more fighting. I didn't know much on the subject at hand, and the battles were tremendous, huge and covered in breath taking landscapes. It reminded me of the battles in Lord of the Rings, without the fantasy elements and will stick in the mind for a long time. Ripley chose too cast real Muslim actors so people can learn from them, which these days isn't seen to much with calls of white washing. It turns out to be a very underrated film and needs a watch instead of being put off.
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