The film's main problem is our hero, Balian. He becomes all knowing and all-powerful without any explanation. He's a blacksmith who doesn't appear to have much fight training, yet he becomes an amazing war tactician. He previously lived in a forest, yet he knew the ways of the desert better than the men that had been serving there for months, if not years. He is amazingly smart and perceptive about God and religion for a simple craftsman. The viewer is left feeling that a large collection of deleted scenes is going to appear on the DVD that highlight back-story and characterization, which were cut to streamline the action. While I thought the character was poorly written, Orlando Bloom handled the role well, creating one of his better performances. I have not been impressed with any of his previous work, but to be fair, I'm not a teenage girl.

Kingdom of Heaven is a big movie and its action is worth seeing on the big screen. It has more positives than minuses and had the potential to be very good. I recommend it to those who enjoy these types of epics. In comparison to similar films of the genre, I would rate it better than Troy and Scott's own Gladiator, but not as good as Braveheart.

The film as a whole is elevated by its underlying theme about religion and war that will be forever timely. The closing credits point out the volatility that still exists in Jerusalem almost a thousand years later. It is lesson that mankind seems incapable of learning as long as people fail to realize that the Kingdom of Heaven isn't a location without but a state of being within. To paraphrase Paul Simon, "Where have you gone, Joseph Campbell/A world turns its lonely eyes to you (Woo, woo, woo)"