Reviews & Ratings for
Kingdom of Heaven (2005)

This review is for the Directors Cut. Any theatrical release is almost half the runtime, but suffers incredibly due to cut content taking entire key plot points and whole characters away.

I'm fairly mixed on how I feel about this film.
The casting in this movie is incredible, for all but 2 characters. Amazing actors such as Jeremy Irons and even Liam Neeson completely become their role, and make you look forward to every scene they inhabit. The two casting choices that pull the movie down? The protagonist and antagonist.
If Liam Neeson or even Jeremy Irons starred, this may easily have been a classic, but Orlando Bloom unfortunately seems completely miscasted. He is fairly dry and unlikable. The antagonist (I don't even remember the name, but it was the Templar dude?) is better, though deliver's his lines fairly awkwardly. This ultimately pulls down apon the experience.
Despite these shortcomings, there was never a moment in this 3 hour long movie I felt was boring or unneeded. The director sculpted each scene with care, and besides multiple cringy lines and awkward dialogues (usually involving our beloved Orlando Bloom), the movie has a plot and message incredible to see.
So to end, the movie is incredibly enjoyable, with the action and drama being superior to many other movies, but unfortunately is pulled back due to some bad casting and poor writing. All in all, I would grant it a 6. Definitely worth watching if you have interest in history, or enjoy movies set in the middle ages. If you aren't someone who can easily sit through a 4 hour epic like Lord of the Rings though, you'll have trouble seeing Kingdom of Heaven through till the end.