The appeal of Orlando Bloom continues to escape me- by far the worst of the central Rings cast, his prancing elf was fey and threatless, and one gets the feeling he only survives the Pirates franchise because the audience are too busy watching Johnny Depp. When he’s called on to carry a film- such as Elizabethtown- his true colours shine through- pleasant, pretty but ultimately rather lacklustre and forgettable. His performance here is much of the same, coming off like a well- to- do English student working for an NGO in the far East and getting the chance to show the locals how to do a few things, like dig wells, bring down siege towers and surrender with honour.
At least this recut of Ridley Scott’s formerly bowdlerised historical epic is epic now, even if it isn’t convincingly historical. There’s a sense of scale and scope here lacking in all those other post- Gladiator sword-n-sandal sagas, and the supporting cast is excellent, if they do tend to get bumped off just when they’ve managed to make an impression.
by Tom Huddleston | Source: DVD
02 Mar 2007 1:19 PM | Comments (1)
haven’t seen the recut version of this, but i was pretty disappointed by the theatrical release. Bloom is indeed awful, but even someone else in the role wouldn’t have saved it. I just have a feeling that there’s a really GREAT Crusades movie to be made by somebody. Something that covers religious ecstasy/ridiculous violence/political corruption in a way that doesn’t totally pander to a modern sensibility. it’s a fascinating historical period/event that as far as I know, no film has done justice. Am I wrong? Is there a good Crusades movie I’ve missed?
tyler W
2 March 2007
12:20 PM
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