Set in the 12th century Crusades and the defense of Jerusalem, this movie should have been one I loved. The crew took pains to ensure an accurate portrayal of the period, including clothing and battle tactics. The story was based on real life events. The politics were also real (though an amalgam of real events). It had a good share of action. And yet, the movie came out average.
The main character, Balian (Orlando Bloom), is a blacksmith who turns out to be the son of a nobleman, and through a series of events ends up being in charge of the defense of Jerusalem from the Saracens. And he only has one short sword-fighting lesson from his father. Apparently keeping your guard high is the sole answer to all sword fighting in that period, since he fights a lot and barely gets hurt, except for once (though it is a nasty one).
I did learn some interesting things, though – especially from the real historical information displayed as one of the special features. In some ways I found that more interesting than the movie itself.
Three stars.
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