posted by
orichalcum at 10:58pm on 22/05/2005
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This is not a post about Sith. This is a post about why you should all run out and see Kingdom of Heaven, which is actually a pretty cool and fun movie and has the best cinematic realistic medieval combat I've ever seen except _maybe_ LOTR, and its mass combat sequences beat LOTR.
Non-spoiler reasons why:
1. The Combat! Especially the cavalry charges! And the trebuchets! And the boiling oil! And the morning stars!
2. All the pretty costumes and architecture and banners and, oh, just the right feel for everything. It all looks right, and authentic, and like an Islamic-esque medieval Jerusalem. A bit too deserty in other places for Israel, but in general terrific.
3. The Muslim characters, especially Salah-al-din and Alexander Siddig's (Bashir of DS9) character, who have wonderfully subtle and complex interactions with each other. Sadly, a few of these are lost on the viewer unless you really know the history well.
4. Liam Neeson, who is a knight sans peur as Godfrey of Ibelin, and manages to say incredibly trite lines with a straight and convincing face.
The Bads:
So, the dialogue was weak in some places, Orlando Bloom still possesses only 3 facial expressions (and why a blacksmith???), there's a bit too much "random famous person drops by" scenes, and in general, the acting by the main characters veered a bit too much on melodrama. The Bad Guys Are Very Baaaad, and do everything but twirl their moustaches.
But it makes Gladiator look like Troy. Please, go see this movie before it gets shut out of theaters. It deserves it.
Non-spoiler reasons why:
1. The Combat! Especially the cavalry charges! And the trebuchets! And the boiling oil! And the morning stars!
2. All the pretty costumes and architecture and banners and, oh, just the right feel for everything. It all looks right, and authentic, and like an Islamic-esque medieval Jerusalem. A bit too deserty in other places for Israel, but in general terrific.
3. The Muslim characters, especially Salah-al-din and Alexander Siddig's (Bashir of DS9) character, who have wonderfully subtle and complex interactions with each other. Sadly, a few of these are lost on the viewer unless you really know the history well.
4. Liam Neeson, who is a knight sans peur as Godfrey of Ibelin, and manages to say incredibly trite lines with a straight and convincing face.
The Bads:
So, the dialogue was weak in some places, Orlando Bloom still possesses only 3 facial expressions (and why a blacksmith???), there's a bit too much "random famous person drops by" scenes, and in general, the acting by the main characters veered a bit too much on melodrama. The Bad Guys Are Very Baaaad, and do everything but twirl their moustaches.
But it makes Gladiator look like Troy. Please, go see this movie before it gets shut out of theaters. It deserves it.
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Agreed
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