Because of his movies "Blackhawk Down" and "Gladiator," director Ridley Scott has proven that he is a skillful storyteller of the struggles men go through to find themselves and the right path while defending king, country and, now let's add, religion.
Balian, the main character of Scott's new movie"Kingdom of Heaven," is a blacksmith who loses his wife but then gains a father, Lord Godfrey. Lord Godfrey is a Crusader passing through on his way to the Holy Land and offers to take his new found son, Balian, with him.
During his journey to the Holy Land, Balian has to learn how to fight, to love again, and to find the courage within himself to do the right thing, regardless of the cost to him personally.
There were many things I liked about "Kingdom of Heaven." Ridley Scott is a great general who knows how to direct his troops ( the actors, the extras, the camera operators, and the studio executives) so that you get an entertaining movie.
But unlike "Gladiator" and "Blackhawk Down," Scott's new movie "Kingdom of Heaven" is a MESSAGE movie. Some people will like the MESSAGE and some won't.
The MESSAGE in this movie is not that religion is evil but that good people are good and bad people are bad, regardless of whichever religious symbol they may wear on their chests. Another message in this movie is that fanaticism leads to corruption of the spirit which leads to acts of evil.
The tactics of war may have changed over the last 10, 000 years but the reasons for going to war remain the same: politics, religion, and resources. Recently, in the theater of war, religion has taken the center stage.
The Crusades occurred during the Dark Ages: a time when people were slaughtered without thought or regret, war touched every citizen every day, and people struggled to find the courage to do the right thing. Sound familiar?
This movie is rated R.
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