Kingdom of Heaven

The miscasting of the lightweight Bloom proves fatal: instead of galvanizing this epic, he sucks the energy out of it.

It feels spectacularly empty.

Scott has certainly uncovered a fascinating era, but not necessarily the right hero to do it justice.

A far-reaching period epic that is also relevant to our understanding of the conflicts in the Middle East of the present day.

It is a deeply personal, highly introspective work of artistic expression the likes of which the director hasn't attempted since Blade Runner, this easily his best, and probably least accessible, film since that ground-breaking sci-fi classic.

Deeper than anything found in Gladiator, I’ve long held this as one of director Ridley Scott’s top 3 features. Time has only been kind to the superior version of this Crusades epic, as the director’s cut has always garnered plenty of favor.

Director’s cut holds as one of Scott’s best. Balanced approach to this tense historical event, portraying Muslims as three-dimensional and not Hollywood’s classic route of stereotypes. 

Overall, well-acted, well-directed, with scale and drama throughout.

Storytelling is sacrificed for spectacle, resulting in something breathtakingly epic yet partially unsatisfying and unfortunately forgettable.

The ballistic bloodletting of the battle for Jerusalem is indeed awe-inspiring, but Scott also finds some space inside such heavy, hellish traffic to humanise the conflict.