Disappointing! Not what I expected. Average.
I guess I just expected too much before I watched this film. I am a student of medieval history, the crusades, and the Templars and I expected an intelligent film (which Ridley Scott usually produces). What I saw was an anti-war "epic" wanna-be.
The acting was OK. The battle scenes decent. The editing and camera work well done. The problem was the story. Historically, the film was surprisingly accurate, but the characters were not believable in this time period; specifically Orlando Bloom's character.
It was like a 20th (or now 21st) century man thrown in to a world of political, religious and social disorder. The time of the crusades was one of fanaticism based on beliefs that the only way to heaven was by being absolved of sin; the catholic church in their greed to rule the world, set out in a bloody conquest to destroy the Jews and Muslims in the Holy Land and the only way that they could get commoners to participate was to promise that heaven awaited them on the other side.
This was the dark ages (called that because it was before the age of enlightenment), a time when most people couldn't read, and even if they could, didn't have anything to read because everything was in latin, including the bible. People had to believe what the pope told them. If they didn't believe the pope, they had to do what their feudal lords told them to do (because the lords would have them arrested, killed, homeless, wifeless or childless if they didn't).
Essentially, this film tries to prove that men had free will in the dark/middle ages and history proves that this is not possible. Just as we cannot understand what it was like to live during the revolutionary war, the civil war, the hundred years war, or any other war from a previous time period, we cannot understand the massive, sweeping lack of power possessed by the individual during the time of the crusades. Only monarchs and clergy had power at this time and only they had the potential for understanding the political, religious climate of the day.
Even educated people of the time were stupid in the world of international relations because everything back then was based on personal greed, personal gain of the church and the monarchs.
Now, so far as those of you who claim that the movie is christian bashing, let me say this. DO SOME RESEARCH!!! The dark ages was a horrible time for the church, the catholic church especially. The church was controlled by evil men with agendas that did not include glorifying God. Heresy and Simony were rampant in and out of the church.
OK, so you don't care about the accuracy, and you just want a good action movie that takes place in the dark ages. Well then, this movie is for you.
It actually was a good movie with good acting and a good script. The problem that I have is that it just isn't believable with what I know about the time period. Had I not known about the time period, I probably would have rated the film higher.
So, in the end, what you have with this is a film that seems to be trying to make a point; that war is pointless. WELL, WE KNOW THAT. LOOK AT IRAQ AND AFGHANISTAN.
What I don't understand is why this movie was made. It is entertaining, but at what cost. It does nothing to explain the period, the mistakes of the past. It is propaganda. I know, I expect too much. I will grant you that. Do what you will with this review, but I was let down by this movie. Too bad, really. It could have been a great movie.Read full review
