Just what I expected

This is a tender, generous movie that likes its characters and presents them as real people, full of flaws and strengths.

An old-fashioned movie made with new-fashioned finesse.

There are moments that feel comical, some horrific, and some downright inspiring but the tonal shifts hardly matter as the end results come to a film that's perfect for this time.

Ridley Scott made an obvious mistake here. I watched this film long time ago. What I got from seeing this drool, was a sour feeling of being bored. I have tried the Director's Cut. My. Three excruciating hours of utter doom. Everything is wrong in this movie -the cast, with Orlando Bloom being the worst offender, and Eva Green little more than an average bore. The setting, with its awful false tonality, epic mediocrity and inescapable feeling of clichés. We saw this all before time and again. Why suffer this horrid boredom-fest, which never rises above dull or gray. My, even such awesome stars as Liam Neeson or Jeremy Irons could be so miserable and so flat as here. Battle scenes? Only if you didn't watch much better Lord Of The Rings fights. Love story. Come on, boring trite banality. On top of that all, terrible plot holes, jumps and a cream of the crop - ;laughable accents that make you cringe. Truly, a crime of a film

This movie begins in 1184 with a knight named "Godfrey de Ibelin" (Liam Neeson) returning to France from the Middle East in search of a son he never got the chance to know. At that exact same time a young blacksmith by the name of "Balian" (Orlando Bloom) has just lost his wife due to her suicide over the loss of her new baby. Although Balian has no real interest in forming a relationship with his newly declared father, that changes when he subsequently kills a corrupt priest for stealing his dead wife's crucifix. With nowhere else to go he proceeds to join the Crusaders on their way back to the Holy Land where he hopes he can attain forgiveness for his wife and himself. Unfortunately, the Crusaders are soon met by some local knights intent on bringing Balian back and punishing him for his crime. A fight breaks out between the two groups and even though the local knights are defeated Godfrey is severely injured and dies not long afterward. However, before passing away he bequeaths his title to his son and makes him swear to support the King of Jerusalem against his enemies--which includes a large faction of Knights Templars led by a man named "Guy de Lisignan" (Marton Csokas) who is spoiling for a fight against the Muslims even though the Crusaders are greatly outnumbered. Along with that, Guy is betrothed to a beautiful woman named "Sibylla" (Eva Green) who is immediately attracted to Balian--and she prefers him to Guy. Now rather than reveal any more I will just say that this was a very entertaining film which kept my attention throughout. Historically, the Crusaders who had been in the Holy Land the longest realized that they were greatly outnumbered and preferred to keep possession of Jerusalem and other key areas by peacefully coexisting with the Muslim population when possible. On the other hand, those Crusaders who were relatively new to the area were more intolerant and sought battle for both religious and economic reasons. As such, this film captures that dynamic remarkably well. On the other hand, there were also some touches of "Hollywood" included which I thought were totally unnecessary--but I suppose that is to be expected from any big-budget project like this. In any case, I liked this movie and I have rated it accordingly. Above average.

WARNING: If you want to watch this movie there's two things I recommend.First: Get yourself the director's cut. The theatrical release has 45 minutes of cuts. The movie doesn't make sense without that material. With those 45 minutes included, this film is a gripping epic with some great cinematography and some really good acting (well, Orlando Bloom is serviceable at best but there is great cast of supporting characters; most notably Edward Norton that delivers an impressive body and voice performance as the always face-covered Leper King).Second: Renounce any historical accuracy. If you are an expert on Crusades and this time period in general, this movie will probably disappoint you. Every element has some root in real events but they are twisted and turned to service what is essentially a very modern moral lesson.

This movie/story is part fairy tale, part propaganda. It's one of those stories in which the events are placed in a time in history, but everything else about it is made up. No need to go into any more detail than so many others have about the politically incorrect people, places, circumstances and events--it all serves Ridley's idea of the way the world should work, not the way it really is, ever has been or ever will be. People who like this movie, and even many who don't, also rave about the "beautiful cinematography." Well, most of that cinematography is digitally rendered, and much of the movie is shot against a green screen (like 300). How much more beautiful would it have been if filmed on location? Jerusalem--the real place--and the surrounding area is some of the most varied and beautiful terrain you'll ever see, but the movie rewrites the geography so that you have Jerusalem set next to an impossibly flat and featureless plain that runs for 100s of miles in all directions--stupid. There's nothing to admire about this movie.