Geophyrd
02-Aug-2006, 05:22 PM
Before I review this movie, I have a couple of caveats worth caveating
First caveat: I'm into history. I've been in the SCA for more than 20 years, have fought in armor and love studying midieval period history. I am one of those guys who gets annoyed when the heraldry's wrong, let alone the history. I like it accurate. Some films get it right (Flesh and Blood, Braveheart) and others pretend (Alexander, Troy) and others don't even bother trying (Robin Hood, Price of Thieves, Army of Darkness). I have uses for all of them, but the first one holds a special place in my heart.
Second caveat: KoH came out at the same time (approx) as Troy and Alexander, both highly inferior flicks. I think its why the flick got buried. It shouldn't have been. If it came out a year earlier or a year later, this would have been a blockbuster.
The review: KoH was excellent. The story line was intriguing and rang very true. The characters are (I think) mostly fictional but there were no doubt men and women just like the characters. The battles were spellbinding and for once, they used CGI the way it should have been used: to enhance the reality not the surreality.
The story is simple. A blacksmith whose wife just dies meets his father, a noble who raped his mother years before. The man apologizes, offers to take the blacksmith with him to Jerusalem to join the crusades. Along the way, stuff happens. When he gets there, more stuff happens and when it is all over, stuff stops happening. What lies between the beginning and the end is a fascinating, enjoyable story.
The actors (Orlando Bloom, Jeremy Irons, Liam Neeson briefly and everyone else) do an excellent job. I don't know who played the king but even in his leper clothes, he was excellent. (Edit: Just found out. It was Edward Norton who was uncredited and unrecognizable, not to mention unforgettable).
I highly recommend this movie. I watched it a little grudgingly but got into it quickly.
Oh, and the heraldry was (I'm pretty sure) right for a change. King Richard's standard on his chest was the one he adopted during the crusades, the 2 Lions Rampant and Countered, not the Lion Rampant and Roaring that always gets used but was only used by him when at home. Yeah, a bit anally retentive, aren't I?
First caveat: I'm into history. I've been in the SCA for more than 20 years, have fought in armor and love studying midieval period history. I am one of those guys who gets annoyed when the heraldry's wrong, let alone the history. I like it accurate. Some films get it right (Flesh and Blood, Braveheart) and others pretend (Alexander, Troy) and others don't even bother trying (Robin Hood, Price of Thieves, Army of Darkness). I have uses for all of them, but the first one holds a special place in my heart.
Second caveat: KoH came out at the same time (approx) as Troy and Alexander, both highly inferior flicks. I think its why the flick got buried. It shouldn't have been. If it came out a year earlier or a year later, this would have been a blockbuster.
The review: KoH was excellent. The story line was intriguing and rang very true. The characters are (I think) mostly fictional but there were no doubt men and women just like the characters. The battles were spellbinding and for once, they used CGI the way it should have been used: to enhance the reality not the surreality.
The story is simple. A blacksmith whose wife just dies meets his father, a noble who raped his mother years before. The man apologizes, offers to take the blacksmith with him to Jerusalem to join the crusades. Along the way, stuff happens. When he gets there, more stuff happens and when it is all over, stuff stops happening. What lies between the beginning and the end is a fascinating, enjoyable story.
The actors (Orlando Bloom, Jeremy Irons, Liam Neeson briefly and everyone else) do an excellent job. I don't know who played the king but even in his leper clothes, he was excellent. (Edit: Just found out. It was Edward Norton who was uncredited and unrecognizable, not to mention unforgettable).
I highly recommend this movie. I watched it a little grudgingly but got into it quickly.
Oh, and the heraldry was (I'm pretty sure) right for a change. King Richard's standard on his chest was the one he adopted during the crusades, the 2 Lions Rampant and Countered, not the Lion Rampant and Roaring that always gets used but was only used by him when at home. Yeah, a bit anally retentive, aren't I?