Kingdom of heaven- Grey hero and white villian

The story has a stronger political and philosophical message, as opposed to the primal emotions of a wronged father in 'Gladiator'. Even though it is very timely given the political climate of the world, 'Kingdom of Heaven' will have lesser universal appeal.

Queen Sibylla "There will come a time when you wish that you had done a little evil for a greater good" Balian stood silent. Profound statement is wasted because the professed time does not come. After the surrender of Jerusalem to the army of Salaudin. Sibylla and Balian ride back to a little village in France and live happily ever after!! The film looks like it is edited out to cater to the box office demands. The duration looked like it was too small to tell the story the director really wanted to say. Especially the relationship between Balian and Sibylla looks incomplete and underdeveloped. Their on screen passion does not have proper build up. Hope we get to see the film from Ridley Scotts heart which would be possible if there is ever a director's cut.

The film does manage to break a few stereotypes. For one the people from the Middle East are portrayed as disciplined, belonging to a more advanced society than the Europeans who are mostly shown as crude and barbaric. Sallaudin is portrayed as a noble visionary general. This is the first time i have seen a villian with a halo portrayed in pure white, as opposed to the shades of grey on the hero.

Parashu liked the film. He is yet to recover from the sheer scale of production. (He has not seen 'Lord of the rings')