Kingdom of Dreams
Kingdom of Dreams is Scott's way of trying to recapture the
success of Gladiator and to turn Bloom into the international
sensation and instant leading man that Crowe became after is
Oscar winning performance in that Roman drama. I don't fault
Bloom for trying. I know he had to be thinking how could he
lose? Sure it's an epic drama and none of the other recently
released historical epics (including his Troy) have come
anywhere near the success of Gladiator, but Dreams has Scott,
Gladiator's mastermind at the helm, he couldn't go
wrong...right? Well, that's not exactly what happened. See
someone forgot to tell Orlando that he's not Russell Crowe. And
while he looked damn good in those elf ears, it takes much more
then a pretty face to pull off an epic drama the likes of
Kingdom of Dreams and unfortunately for us all Bloom just
doesn't have it.
I hate to criticize Orlando. I do. I think he's gorgeous and
love to watch him on the big screen and he's not a bad actor he
just doesn't have the acting chops or the screen presence to be
convincing as the salvation of a nation. Dreams tells the story
of Michael (Bloom) a lowly blacksmith who has lost his child and
then his wife to suicide. He soon learns he has a nobleman for a
father who has returned to recruit him on his journey to go and
fight the holy Crusades and save Jerusalem from falling back
into the hands of the Muslims led by the historic military
leader Saladin. Agreeing to go in hopes of being able to atone
for his wife's suicide, he soon learn that knowing one's enemy
isn't as clear as knowing where your religious beliefs lie.
Outside of Bloom not having what it takes to carry the roll of
Michael, Dreams doesn't work because the story is choppy and
unclear. Scott decides to tell several stories: the jockeying
for power amongst the Christians, the tenuous treaty between
King Leopold and Saladin, Saladin and his relationship with his
people, and an unnecessary love story that only seems to be
there so there can be an excuse to see a semi-nude Orlando and
instead of seeming interesting and entertaining it all just came
across as one big convoluted mess.
Instead of all of these mini tales the movie would have been
much more interesting had it just focused on Saladin's and
Michael's grudging but shared respect for one another and the
battle over Jerusalem. Instead we are left with a lot of
unnecessary screen time filled by boring sub-plots and a badly
used Edward Norton who is stuck behind a tin mask mumbling for a
good portion of the movie. Talk about bad use of an actor,
Norton would have made a much better Michael then Bloom and
might have been able to stir up some emotions and excitement
where Orlando could not.
Despites these gaffes, Kingdom of Dreams does offer some notable
performances namely Jeffrey Irons who plays Tiberius a battle
weary Sheriff of Jerusalem and commander of his own troops who
is vehemently opposed to breaking the treaty they have with
Saladin and JoJo Michael's father's priest and friend and
subsequently the one who helps Michael become the man his father
wanted him to be.
While relatively entertaining, Kingdom of Dreams is ultimately a
disappointment. I expected more out of Bloom but I really
expected a great deal more out of Scott, after all he is the guy
who brought us Gladiator and help turn Russell Crowe into a
house hold name. Unfortunately, for everyone Kingdom of Dreams
is no Gladiator.