This film had the potential to be better than Gladiator - for a start it's a great deal more accurate and it also boasts a smarter script full of contemporary analogies that link it to present-day Middle East conflict.
The special effects are just as spectacular as in Gladiator, and other recent battle epics like King Arthur, and there's a great cast including Jeremy Irons, David Thewlis, Liam Neeson and I really like Eva Green too.
Unfortunately none of these people are the star. Orlando Bloom is. This man is rapidly turning into the English Keanu Reeves - his acting style is best described as "Noble and Anguished". Sometimes he stretches himself and is "Anguished and Noble" instead. He blows the film's big lines and epic moments and reduce this movie to Gladiator-Lite. The other casting problem is Martin Csokas as Guy de Lusignan who is no more than Dick Dastardly in Crusader's garb.
That said, I enjoyed the film, even if I was disappointed that it wasn't better. The battle sequences are excellent and the film contains a surprisingly tolerant message, given the subject.
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