Directed by: Ridley Scott
Grade: B—
Surely, Kingdom of Heaven could have been better. The film is instantly admirable on a technical level, as well as on terms of it's narrative and character disposition. Really, the only thing that nags me to the core is how much better Kingdom of Heaven really could have been. It's one of those sweeping films that could have fallen in line with those other great films like Gone with the Wind, Lawrence of Arabia. Those are the kind of films that stay with us forever. Kingdom of Heaven will most likely not stay with us forever. Higher chances are, it will find itself in whatever list of well-done but completely forgettable films.
It's an interesting examination of the Crusade Wars that attempts to find compromise between Christians and Muslims, treating both sides with equal fairness. Ultimately though, the film only works especially well as a historical picture, and those tuning in for fighting and action like Scott's other film Gladiator will be thorougly disappointed. Even so, Kingdom of Heaven is far more meaningful in it's narrative then Gladiator, and the technical aspects are no less flawed. When contrasting the two pictures in terms of importance, Gladiator wins for the entertainment value side of things. In the other territories though, Kingdom of Heaven is arguably superior.
Originally, Scott's original product was over three hours long, but in total, it was structurally complete. The final piece was rejected by the producers as it was too long. Scott was forced to cut the film to two and a half hours, leaving out many details. The three hour version of Kingdom of Heaven is now the Director's Cut. I hope to watch the Director's Cut soon, as I have read that it is one of the most definitive Director Cut's available.
As a result of this, the theatrical version of Kingdom of Heaven leaves out several important details and therefore feels somewhat incomplete and is not as a formidable piece of work as it could have been. Even so, it is very well made and is one of the most, if not the most, ambitious project's undertaken by Scott. Even if I was a little more interested in what Gladiator had to offer, Kingdom of Heaven is the more important picture on everything other than entertainment value. Therefore, Kingdom of Heaven is the more striving and determined motion picture. Several moments in Kingdom of Heaven are simply visually stunning as well as dramatically compelling, and often, the two are combined in the incredible shots of the desert which echo back to Lawrence of Arabia.
I appreciate the theatrical version of Kingdom of Heaven for accomplishing all that it set out to do as was allowed by the film studio and producers. I really do wish to getting around to the complete Director's Cut version, and when I do, I feel that my overall opinion on Kingdom of Heaven will change.
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