**Kingdom of Heaven**

[Colovion]

I enjoyed the movie. I never hate any movie which at least attempts to portray history in all it's grandeur. Even movies which have certain aspects which are flaws still bring to the entertainment, and if you know the real version - then you can just overlook those facets of the film for entertainment purposes.

I did kind of feel ripped off when I didn't see any huge battle scenes actually get carried out. It almost seemed as if every time two hosts came together that it was anti-climactical. The lack of the battle of Hattin, from the movie, showed that it was already over before it began. At least it was shown that the lack of water was the reason for the loss, and the ignorance of Guy.

In the end the reason why I enjoyed the film was because it dealt more with the development of characters and the reality of the situations surrounding the battle scenes. It didn't so much concentrate on the battles as the pinnacle of the movie - nor did it glorify war. Essentially it was to show the disparity of war, as I felt strongly from the scene at the broken wall of Jerusalem.

Even though these Epic films like Alexander, Kingdom of Heaven etc, do not have perfect historical accuracy to back them up, I still love seeing such amazing acts of courage broadcast for all to see.

I brought my mom and sister there for part of my mom's Mother's Day present. At the end of the movie she said "So was that all real?" As if she didn't expect it to be something that could have been in any way real. She didn't even know if Saladin was a fictional or factual character. I advised that most of it was facts, in the general sense, but I have a book if she wants to read it.

ps - I felt Alexander was very engrossing. After reading a historical Biography on the man, I still felt it generally held true to what most movie goers would call his greatest achievements, and also gives the first true dipiction of the chaos on a miles-long battlefield.