So what is the deal with Orlando Bloom? Ever since he swung onto the scene with his terrific performance as Legolas in the exceptionally awesome “Lord of the Rings” Trilogy, it seems like he’s been in one ‘swordplay’ movie after another. “Pirates of the Caribbean” (and its sequels), “Troy”, and now “Kingdom of Heaven.” Thankfully it looks like he might escape the chains of stereotyping since he is currently starring in Cameron Crowe’s “Elizabethtown”, minus his naturally British accent I might add. “Kingdom of Heaven” is one of those historical big-budget films by Ridley Scott, which are meant to elicit all the grandeur and spectacle that was goes along with war and political intrigue. A sand-and-sandal epic, I believe they are called. He first visited this genre with “1492: Conquest of Peace”, then later with the slightly overrated “Gladiator.” (Don’t get me wrong, “Gladiator” was a really good film, just not quit as good as it was made out to be.)

In “Kingdom of Heaven”, Orlando Bloom plays Balian, the illegitimate son of Godfrey of Ibelin (Liam Neeson). When Godfrey discovers a great tragedy that has befallen his family, he convinces Balian to join him on a journey to the Holy Land. Here he believes he can be pardoned for all of his sins. Along the way, they are ambushed and Balian is forced to continue alone. He assumes the identity of the Baron of Ibelin and winds up in Jerusalem. He soon finds himself caught up in a web of intrigue and political wrangling, which is quickly moving the city into the throes of war.

As expected, I was blown away by the performances given by Neeson, Brendan Gleeson (Christian Chatillon), Edward Norton (The Leper King), and especially Jeremy Irons, who is magnificent as the military leader, Tiberius. Unfortunately all of these performances overshadow that of Bloom’s. Orlando Bloom is a really good actor, but he seems woefully out of place in is role here. Much too young and boyish to be believable as a warrior, or as a leader of men, he moves about from scene to scene like a kid in a high school play. His delivery of speeches to the soldiers, while full of bravado, really just don’t come across with the power needed to gain the respect of those he is leading.

Where the movie carries its saving graces comes in the overall spectacle of it. Watching the movie for the first time on DVD, I was amazed by the massive scenes of battle. The enormity of the production, in spite of the CGI that was used for some of the sequences, is mind-boggling. Scott has a terrific eye when it comes to the shooting of scenes. His work alongside cinematographer John Mathieson delivers sequences that are truly breathtaking. But as far as editing goes, the story feels rushed, even at its current length of 2 hours and twenty minutes. I understand there is a longer director’s cut that offers another hour or so and despite the weakness of Bloom’s overall performance, leads me to believe it would be a much better film if overall. Hopefully, there will be another release down the road.

The 2-disc DVD is has come out courtesy of Fox, and as always they have delivered a stellar transfer, which is most noticeable in the audio portion of the immense battle sequences. And as for special features… set aside a long night to get through them. The first disc offers up an onscreen text commentary that educates the viewer by displaying information about the real people and events depicted in the film.

The second disc has an Interactive Production Grid, which allows the viewer to see behind the scenes from the point of view of the director, cast or crew. There are ton of little featurettes here, and this grid offers a fairly simple way to navigate through them based on what you are most interested in. You’ll also find an Arts & Entertainment documentary that includes interviews with the cast and crew and mostly shows how they tried to make the film as historically accurate as Hollywood would allow. There is also another documentary, “History vs. Hollywood”, which does a fairly entertaining job of comparing fact with fiction. Add to these 4 more short featurettes and you have a really nicely packaged DVD set for what could have been a great film.

“Kingdom of Heaven” is not a bad film by any stretch of the imagination; it only suffered form a bit of miscasting on the part of Bloom. It is still an opulent production that will leave you breathless. But I’m a bit curious about the hour that was excised, and again, really hope that a longer version of the film will be released in the near future.

Directed by: Ridley Scott
Starring: Orlando Bloom, Liam Neeson, Brendan Gleeson, David Thewlis, Eva Green, Edward Norton
Extras: Inside Look: Tristan & Isolde, The Pilgrim's Guide - A text commentary stream consisting of both production and historical notes, synchronous with film, Interactive Production Grid - A simple to use navigation portal will ask viewers to choose the desired perspective and timeframe allowing them to tailor the "Making Of" material to their liking. There are no less than 16 different ways to experience The Grid, A&E Movie Real: "Kingdom of Heaven", The History Channel's "History vs Hollywood", "Kingdom of Heaven", Behind-the-scenes featurettes: Ridley Scott - "Creating Worlds", Production Featurette, Wardrobe Featurette, Orlando Bloom "The Adventure of a Lifetime", Trailers
Specifications: Widescreen, DTS 5.1 Digital Surround Sound, Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Sound
Studio: Fox
Release Date: 10/11/2005
Region 1
MPAA Rating: R
Website

We'll give Kingdom of Heaven a B-.