Orlando Bloom Crusades in 'Kingdom of Heaven'

Hollywood Confidential ^ | April 30th, 2005

[missyme]

We recently attended a preview of director Ridley Scott's crusader epic, "Kingdom of Heaven," which opens nationally May 6. The $130 million film -- which stars Orlando Bloom, Liam Neeson and Jeremy Irons -- tells the story of a 12th century blacksmith who rises to defend Jerusalem from Muslim invaders.

We're unable to officially review the film until its release, but we had these observations:

Although Scott put "Kingdom" in development before the 9/11 attacks, it's obvious that the War on Terror forms the backdrop for the film. "Kingdom of Heaven" is clearly intended to be a parable for our time, and it's therefore disappointing that a director of Scott's skill and experience (directing classics like "Alien," "Blade Runner" and "Gladiator") would opt for such a conventional, secular-liberal interpretation of the present conflict.

Even with its gorgeous settings, splendid action sequences, and some fine performances by Neeson and Irons, "Kingdom of Heaven" wears its politics too much on its sleeve.

The Western crusaders are too often dismissed as bloodthirsty and rapacious, and religion itself (both Christianity and Islam) is reduced to little more than a source of fanaticism. Scott doesn't glamorize the Islamic cause -- yet he can't understand it, either. Neither side's worldview is explored in any depth, because Scott assumes that war is the natural outflow of religion -- any religion.

Liberal Hollywood is struggling to find its voice in the post-9/11 world. Ridley Scott's effort may be the most ambitious yet in this regard, but the limitations of the liberal wordview in understanding our current struggle are become more obvious by the day. Aesthetically, "Kingdom of Heaven" may be a huge leap forward from "Fahrenheit 9/11," but its values are only baby steps removed.

[Sam Cree]

Hopefully, if nothing else, this film will have some good archery scenes. I'm waiting for peer (freeper) review, though!

[Old Sarge]

I wish we could ask the thousands of Jews were burned alive in their synagogues rather then convert to Christianity.

Or ask the millions who have been beheaded because to the Muslims, we are all Infidel.

[Old Sarge]

Tired? Hardly. It keeps proving itself as a relevant statement with each studio press release.

[Borges]

How does that excuse the slaughter of Jews by the Crusaders? The point is to not be like them.

[Strategerist]

Or ask the millions who have been beheaded

Millions? Cite a source.

[Old Sarge]

Neeson made his contempt for orthodox Christianity very clear in his interviews leading up to the release of Kinsey.

Hmm. I didn't realize he stated it that recently.

[dfwgator]

Dropping nukes on Japan was "barbarous." But I'm sure as hell glad we did it. It ended up saving even more lives than it took.

[FormerACLUmember]

What, did al Queda fund this abomination? This looks like this summer's evil version of that turkey "Alexander the Great."

And the seriously gay-looking, gay-sounding Orlando Bloom is just dreadful in his leading roles. This is a royal stink bomb of a movie.

The movie Troy was laughably bad in so many, many ways... but Orlando Bloom was absolutely pathetic. I saw it with my two sons and we enjoyed a lot of laughs at leading man Orlando, waiting for his interminable movie to end.

[Old Sarge]

How do your statements apologize for the Muslims?

You bore me. Go apologize for the Jihad somewhere else.

[Old Sarge]

How many have died since the First Crusade under the Cresent? Do YOU have numbers?

[Lakeshark]

Begging your pardon, but Sarge is right.....80-90% of Hollywood actors are radically and insanely liberal and have little if any brains. They happen to look good on the camera.

He's allowed to hate that, isn't he?

[Strategerist]

Hey, you make a claim, it's your responsibility to support it. Unfortunate you're too lazy to do so.

[Old Sarge]

Agreed. Hollywood is now thinking they can try and put out anti-US subtleties again.

[kinghorse]

Everyone needs to severely chill out, so I can rant.

If I see one my "Our G_d" bumper stickers I think i will scream. I thought there was only one G_d. Makes the asshat driving the car look like a polytheist not a Christian. Dumb DUMB people treating religion like a sporting event. did I mention they are DUMB.

[Borges]

It is tired considering this is mostly a British/Spanish co production. Of course all movies around the world are from Hollyweird! (sarcasm) My FReind, it's very tired. :-)

[Old Sarge]

Ad hominen. You lose.

Go apologize for the enemy someplace else. Not to me.

[ReeseKev27]

Bonnie,
I really wish you were right but I have a glaring example of how wishful that thinking really is.
Vietnam.
Look how Hollywood portrayed Vietnam vs.the reality of Vietnam. I took a history class on the Vietnam War taught by a vet who wasn't at all Hawkish and I know it wasn't all good, but neither was it all the bad you hear it was from Hollywood.
They're portrayal is very different in many respects from reality, and when you look at how many younger Americans view the Vietnam War you can literally point out specific movies in their opinions.
Apocalypse Now went a long way in defining the Vietnam War so we all should be concerned about Kingdom of Heaven. How many people visualize a crazy soldier with an ear necklace when they think of Vietnam? Don't forget Platoon, or Causalities of War, or even Born on the 4th of July. Even Forest Gump got in on it with Lieutenant Dan's post war experience.
I can't think of one movie on Vietnam that even tries to defend American action, that even tries to explain the domino theory that was trashed by the left even though it proved itself in the Cold War and is now proving itself again in the Middle East. Oh and name one young American that knows it was JFK that started all of it. I'm sorry but Hollywood is way too effective in brainwashing Americans through "realistic" fiction. If you think about it, they love to portray themselves as making movies as realistic as possible when the only thing realistic is the actors aren't cartoons like in a Disney movie. Other than using real human actors, and they may move to cheaper clones soon, there isn't anything realistic about these movies.
But you know what, there is a bright light at the end of this tunnel and we're all surfing it right now. Hollywood, just like the MsM, has to deal with the Internet and its bloggers. We should all thank god for small favors :)

[Borges]

Go apologize for the Jihad somewhere else.

LOL I don't know how you got that from my statement.

[wideawake]

You don't kill the entire Muslim and Jewish population of Jerusalem after you capture it

Didn't happen.

Muslims, Orthodox Christians and Jews lived in Jerusalem after the Latin crusaders took the city. It was a brutal campaign and those suspected of collaboration with the Muslim troops were killed.

in a later crusade destroy, plunder, and rape your way through (Orthodox Christian) Constantinope without being bloodthirsty and rapacious

(1) Those troops were not crusaders - their leaders applied to the Pope to be authorized as crusaders and he rejected them outright. One of them had been excommunicated by him earlier.

(2) The brutality against the Greek Orthodox in Constantinople was in large part committed by Greek Orthodox themselves. The troops who assaulted Constantinople were half Greek, supporting a rival claimant to the Emperor's throne. The siege of Constantinople could more accurately be described as a Greek civil war conducted with the help of Latin mercenaries.

(3) The Latin troops who helped the Greeks commit these atrocities were largely Venetians. This makes sense because only twenty years before, the large Venetian community in Constantinople was slaughtered wholesale when their Greek hosts murdered thousands of Venetians in the streets. A lot of the killing was the settling of personal family scores.

[Strategerist]

Noting you're too lazy to bother to support claims with sources isn't an ad hominem, it's fact.