(no subject)
I finally got around to watching Kingdom of Heaven and I wish I'd done it sooner. It's a really good movie. I'd heard really mixed reviews about it, but I really really liked it. Yes, it's not completely historically accurate. Yes, it's not an action/adventure epic love story. It's not supposed to be.
But it was really well done. All the actors did really good jobs, and it felt right. The siege reminded me of the siege of Gondor (not just because of Orlando Bloom), except you know there's no ghost army coming to the rescue, and you know the other side's not orcs, either.
A lot of the best parts were done without dialogue, which I find really impressive. And on the whole, it reminded me of Discworld, especially Jingo. Not in humor, but the other kinds of themes and characters. And coming from me, that's a really big compliment.
But much of the disasters could have been avoided (maybe), if Orlando Bloom's character had been willing to do one evil thing. But I don't know that I can fault him for it, either. It's firmly in the kind of grand epic Greek tragedy, where disaster comes because of the hero's flaws and character. Even if it had a sort of happy ending, many many people still died. And they didn't romanticize that at all, which impressed me. The fights weren't romantic, and they weren't pointlessly gory, either. They happened, and people died, and it wasn't glory, it was just fighting to stay alive. And when the armies fought, it wasn't heroes rampaging through, it essentially came down to a giant shoving match.
Between The Iron Giant and this, I've been reminded of the things that make actual heroes, not just someone shoved into the hero slot because the script demands it.
But it was really well done. All the actors did really good jobs, and it felt right. The siege reminded me of the siege of Gondor (not just because of Orlando Bloom), except you know there's no ghost army coming to the rescue, and you know the other side's not orcs, either.
A lot of the best parts were done without dialogue, which I find really impressive. And on the whole, it reminded me of Discworld, especially Jingo. Not in humor, but the other kinds of themes and characters. And coming from me, that's a really big compliment.
But much of the disasters could have been avoided (maybe), if Orlando Bloom's character had been willing to do one evil thing. But I don't know that I can fault him for it, either. It's firmly in the kind of grand epic Greek tragedy, where disaster comes because of the hero's flaws and character. Even if it had a sort of happy ending, many many people still died. And they didn't romanticize that at all, which impressed me. The fights weren't romantic, and they weren't pointlessly gory, either. They happened, and people died, and it wasn't glory, it was just fighting to stay alive. And when the armies fought, it wasn't heroes rampaging through, it essentially came down to a giant shoving match.
Between The Iron Giant and this, I've been reminded of the things that make actual heroes, not just someone shoved into the hero slot because the script demands it.