http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/kingdom_of_heaven/
Got a 42% rating at Rotten Tomatoes
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There are huge narrative gaps in “Kingdom of Heaven,” such as Balian’s sudden expertise in military strategy and weaponry; his sudden “love” for Jerusalem and the King’s sister, who is de Lusignan’s wife, Sibylla (Eva Green). Considering the lack of back-story, viewers unfamiliar with the Crusades will be wracking their brains trying to figure out who came first and who deserves to be there.
That said, the film is absolutely gorgeous. Scott knows how to make a good-looking epic (“Gladiator”) and here he’s outdone himself with Moroccan locations standing in for Italy and the Holy Land, and with settings that are credible and detailed.
Aside from Irons, Neeson and Massoud, performances reflect one-dimensional characters. As to Bloom, admirable though his work is here, one can’t help but feel that a more imposing actor should’ve played Balian.
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FROM ROTTEN TOMATOES website:
"Bloom comes across as a vapid California surfer boy trying to be a serious "artist." This is an over-long, pretentious bore that I felt like I've seen and didn't like before."
-- Michelle Alexandria, ECLIPSE MAGAZINE
"As a war hero, Orlando Bloom reminds me of the nickname Truman Capote's father gave him: Little Miss Mouse Fart."
-- Tim Appelo, SEATTLE WEEKLY
"A bewildering mishmash of battle scenes and tenuous relationships that calls for heartthrob Orlando Bloom to save the day in a rags-to-riches hurry."
-- Jeanne Aufmuth, PALO ALTO WEEKLY
"The only variations between (recent battle epics) seem to be whether the hero was of noble birth, and whether the battlefields are green and forested or brown and sandy."
-- Rob Blackwelder, SPLICEDWIRE
The gaps cannot be explained because the real Balian of Ibelin was not a twenty-something blacksmith, but a forty-something Outremer noble who was married to King Baldwin's widowed step-mother.
Balian's opposition to de Lusignan was not based on a sordid love triangle, but because Balian was promoting the interests of his step-daughter and the King's half-sister, Isabella.
The real Sybilla nearly gave up her rights to the Jerusalem throne to maintain her marriage to de Lusignan.