Kingdom of Heaven
Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation | Release Date: May 6, 2005 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
63
METASCORE
Generally favorable reviews based on 40 Critic Reviews
Positive:
25
Mixed:
14
Negative:
1
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Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
88
Chicago TribuneMichael Wilmington
A gargantuan epic, a historical adventure-drama of overwhelming visual grandeur. Read full review
88
Charlotte ObserverLawrence Toppman
Bloom finally comes into his own as a man here, somberly thoughtful and melancholic. The elfin archer of "The Lord of the Rings" and the trivial boy-toy of "Troy" have been forgotten. Read full review
88
Chicago Sun-TimesRoger Ebert
Better than "Gladiator" -- deeper, more thoughtful, more about human motivation and less about action. Read full review
83
Seattle Post-IntelligencerWilliam Arnold
Its concept is gutsy, its script is literate and intelligent, its visuals and cinematic craftsmanship are mouth-dropping, and its vision of the insanity of various religions vying to dominate the real estate of the Holy Land comes through with great power. Read full review
80
VarietyTodd McCarthy
Genuinely spectacular and historically quite respectable, Ridley Scott's latest epic is at its strongest in conveying the savagery spawned by fanaticism. Read full review
80
The Hollywood ReporterKirk Honeycutt
Fulfills the requirements of grand-scale moviemaking while serving as a timely reminder that in the conflict between Christianity and Islam it was the Christians who picked the first fight. Read full review
80
L.A. WeeklyScott Foundas
In its depiction of a fleeting, but nevertheless factual, peace in the Middle East, Ridley Scott's Kingdom of Heaven may seem a more quixotic Hollywood fantasy than all six Star Wars movies lumped together. Read full review
80
Los Angeles TimesKenneth Turan
Scott and company have gotten so accomplished at re-creating history that the results have a welcome offhanded quality, making them spectacular without seeming to be showing off. Read full review
80
Washington PostStephen Hunter
Full of astonishments, not the least of which are its ideas. Read full review
78
Austin ChronicleMarjorie Baumgarten
The story's parallels with the present are sometimes inescapable, as when Saladin's fireballs catapulted at Balian's castle strike an eerie resemblance to the "shock and awe" of the U.S.-led coalition's initial assault on Iraq. Read full review
75
ReelViewsJames Berardinelli
Kingdom of Heaven may have problems, but it delivers. Read full review
75
Rolling StonePeter Travers
Odd as it is to say, Kingdom of Heaven loses its momentum the more Balian gets religion. Read full review
75
New York PostLou Lumenick
A rousing, politically correct, Muslim-sympathetic, $140 million take on the Crusades. Read full review
75
Portland OregonianShawn Levy
Scott's cast is like a grand orchestra with various performers filling the roles of instruments: Thewlis a wise, ironic oboe; Neeson a stout cello; Norton a slightly battered flute. As it happens, the piece they're playing is a piano concerto and the keyboard -- that is, Bloom -- isn't big enough to match. Read full review
75
San Francisco ChronicleMick LaSalle
Screenwriter William Monahan has fashioned an intelligent and highly topical epic. Director Ridley Scott has brought it home with banners flying. Read full review
70
TimeRichard Corliss
The battle skirmishes here mix sudden violence with slow-motion artistry. The attractive cast can sell an obsession or articulate a conundrum with equal fervor. Read full review
70
Dallas ObserverBill Gallo
So, if you want to see this loud but rather ordinary epic, don't expect its tricked-up cultural and theological messages to carry much water. For entertainment value, it's hard to beat the climactic siege of Jerusalem, a Ridley Scott-perfect half-hour that matches anything in "Troy" or "Gladiator" for sheer, bloody, helmet-bashing mayhem. Read full review
70
Chicago ReaderJ.R. Jones
Thoughtful and impressively mounted. Read full review
70
The A.V. ClubKeith Phipps
Massoud plays Saladin magnetically, and his arrival only illustrates how many opportunities Kingdom misses. Another, better movie would have made him the focus. Read full review
67
Entertainment WeeklyOwen Gleiberman
Scott, working from a script by William Monahan, is so busy balancing our sympathies, making sure no one gets offended, that he has made a pageant of war that would have gotten a thumbs-up from Eleanor Roosevelt. Read full review
63
Miami HeraldRene Rodriguez
But if the film disappoints on an intellectual level, at least it doesn't skimp on pageantry. This is, without question, one of the most beautifully crafted, visually thrilling war pictures ever made -- a painterly spectacle that leaves you looking for Caravaggio's name in the end credits. Read full review
63
Philadelphia InquirerCarrie Rickey
It's hard to say with assurance whether the flaw is in Bloom's performance or in Monahan's politically correct conception of Balian, precociously secular for a Crusader. Read full review
63
PremierePeter Debruge
Although Scott seems to be making a point about both parties' ongoing feud for Jerusalem , the movie seems more like a classic Western than a contemporary political allegory. Read full review
63
New York Daily NewsJack Mathews
For all its scale, grandeur, historical context and political brass, "Kingdom" is no more compelling a period drama than last year's "Alexander." Read full review
63
Baltimore SunMichael Sragow
What sucks the wind out of the movie's sails is the vacuum at its core. Read full review
60
EmpireIan Nathan
A frustratingly thin epic. You're left wanting more exposition, more character development, the tidying up of loose ends. Read full review
60
The New YorkerAnthony Lane
One imagined that a movie about the Crusades would be gallant and mad; one feared that it might stoke some antiquated prejudice. But who could have dreamed that it would produce this rambling, hollow show about a boy? Read full review
60
Village VoiceMichael Atkinson
The movie does what any self-respecting politician would do: sidestep the issues, soft-pedal mortal costs, talk a fat game, and divert your attention away from history with exercises in spectacle and power. Read full review
60
Film ThreatPete Vonder Haar
A handful of nifty battle scenes and some decent performances aren't quite enough to make Kingdom memorable. Read full review
60
NewsweekDavid Ansen
Fails to rouse any passion. A potentially great subject is frittered away, though this being a Scott movie, there's style to spare. Read full review
50
Christian Science MonitorDavid Sterritt
Bottom line: Kingdom of Heaven is the most exciting action-adventure yarn so far this year. Just don't expect anything deeper. Read full review
50
The New York TimesManohla Dargis
Scott's ravishing visual style, characterized by a fetishistic attention to surface detail and unrelenting beauty, can work wonders with big subjects, but this is also a director who needs actors powerful enough to shoulder narrative and emotional extremes. Read full review
50
USA TodayMike Clark
Dramatically, even a persuasive supporting cast gets Heaven only so far. Read full review
50
SlateDavid Edelstein
I'd have a lot more respect for Scott if he were actually the virtuoso he pretends to be. "Gladiator" had lousy, disjunctive action, and Kingdom of Heaven is even more maladroit. Read full review
50
TV Guide MagazineMaitland McDonagh
Ultimately, despite striving mightily to give everyone a fair shake, the film kindled the ire of conservative Christians and Muslims anyway. Read full review
50
Boston GlobeTy Burr
A mostly lumbering, occasionally rousing epic that walks a bizarre line between historical fact and Hollywood wishful thinking. Read full review
50
The Globe and Mail (Toronto)Liam Lacey
The movie espouses a kind of Unitarian ecumenical egalitarianism that has about as much to do with medieval times as quantum physics. No one should be offended except -- of course -- those who like movies that excite the mind as well as the pulse. Read full review
40
Wall Street JournalJoanne Kaufmann
While there's gore by the gallon, inventiveness is in short supply.
40
SalonStephanie Zacharek
This is muddled and oppressive storytelling (the script is by William Monahan) dotted with elaborate but weightless battle sequences. Read full review
30
Washington PostDesson Thomson
To introduce an archetype like this to western audiences -- as the world weathers culturally and religiously demonizing times -- may have been worth this whole flawed movie. Too bad the story didn't just start with him. Read full review
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