What is Jerusalem worth? Nothing. Everything.
I have just watched the movie, the Kingdom of Heaven today. The whole movie was a great big mess, with a lot of loopholes in the plot and scenes that just seemed to have been cut short. I'm guessing that there was a need to shorten the movie length and they had done some heavy editing. The character development was non-existant and I had no idea why anyone was doing what they did. That was the biggest flaw in the movie.
The main protagonist, Balian of Ibelin, was played by Orlando Bloom. His character made not much sense as I followed the plot of the movie. How does a simple blacksmith become such a great tactician? His battle strategies to defend the walled city of Jerusalem was astounding. There was the charting of distance for his catapults with stained stones, the ballistae that brought down the siege towers and the defence of the breach at the sealed Jordan's Gate.
And, I do not personally believe that Bloom was a good cast for a war general. He is the latest in a long line of Hollywood pretty boys... I would not think that he displayed enough leadership and charisma to lead men into battle. I definately would not follow him into any street brawl, let alone an all out medieval war.
And another thing, how did the Saraceans get hold of trebuchets? Are not these siege engines the product of the French and not of the middle eastern kingdoms? I mean that they did come up with some great ideas like the scimitar and damascus steel. But, trebuchets? It was strange to see the Saraceans use these war machines in the movie.
Brilliant cast of Ghassan Massound as Saladin, the Muslim leader. The Saracean commander was just magnificient with an impressive screen presence. And, the King of Jerusalem is a great war general but was later cursed with leprosy. The irony of having a leper King defend the greatest Holy artefact in Christendom (the city of Jerusalem) was not lost on me.
The beginning of the movie was great. I had the expectations of watching a thought provoking movie and was disappointed. The movie never giva a good overview of the history of Jerusalem, so those ordinary action movie goers would definately have been lost. The movie tries to tackle some heavy and contoversial issues. Islam and Christianity have not been on speaking terms since time immemorial. And, the question of religion and morally correct conduct was never explored to any real depth.
A pity that I found this a mediocre movie.
The main protagonist, Balian of Ibelin, was played by Orlando Bloom. His character made not much sense as I followed the plot of the movie. How does a simple blacksmith become such a great tactician? His battle strategies to defend the walled city of Jerusalem was astounding. There was the charting of distance for his catapults with stained stones, the ballistae that brought down the siege towers and the defence of the breach at the sealed Jordan's Gate.
And, I do not personally believe that Bloom was a good cast for a war general. He is the latest in a long line of Hollywood pretty boys... I would not think that he displayed enough leadership and charisma to lead men into battle. I definately would not follow him into any street brawl, let alone an all out medieval war.
And another thing, how did the Saraceans get hold of trebuchets? Are not these siege engines the product of the French and not of the middle eastern kingdoms? I mean that they did come up with some great ideas like the scimitar and damascus steel. But, trebuchets? It was strange to see the Saraceans use these war machines in the movie.
Brilliant cast of Ghassan Massound as Saladin, the Muslim leader. The Saracean commander was just magnificient with an impressive screen presence. And, the King of Jerusalem is a great war general but was later cursed with leprosy. The irony of having a leper King defend the greatest Holy artefact in Christendom (the city of Jerusalem) was not lost on me.
The beginning of the movie was great. I had the expectations of watching a thought provoking movie and was disappointed. The movie never giva a good overview of the history of Jerusalem, so those ordinary action movie goers would definately have been lost. The movie tries to tackle some heavy and contoversial issues. Islam and Christianity have not been on speaking terms since time immemorial. And, the question of religion and morally correct conduct was never explored to any real depth.
A pity that I found this a mediocre movie.
"The Kingdom of Heaven is one of CONSCIENCE. It exists here (points to the head) and here (points to the heart), and they cannot take that away from you."
from memory~
I seem to recall that there were three Crusades launched into the Middle Eastern lands. And, not all of the Crusades involved the capture of the Holy City of Jerusalem. I vaguely recall Saladin as a general but I had never expected him to be the great Muslim leader of the Saraceans.
The last crusade was definately led by Richard the Lionhearted, King of England. His journey and battles in the middle eastern kingdom was the stuff of legends. An extraordinary warrior (very courageous and bloodthirsty...heh!) on the battlefield and a master strategist. The third and the last Crusade is considered by some to be the most famous of the Crusades.
The last crusade was definately led by Richard the Lionhearted, King of England. His journey and battles in the middle eastern kingdom was the stuff of legends. An extraordinary warrior (very courageous and bloodthirsty...heh!) on the battlefield and a master strategist. The third and the last Crusade is considered by some to be the most famous of the Crusades.
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