Don't get me wrong, Orlando Bloom still does pretty well given the weight of the character, but he is often quite muted in a role that demands a stronger screen presence. The world hadn't seen Christian Bale in Batman Begins yet and Bloom was fresh off the heels of Lord of the Rings and Pirates of the Caribbean so its difficult to know who else the studios would have allowed to fill the role at the time.
I am of course referring only to the Director's Cut, as I remember being very underwhelmed by the original theatrical release. There are snippets of things making it into the CUT the probably still should have stayed on the cutting room floor, but the overall effect is that the film is much more nuanced and better paced. Its not hard to see this rivalling Gladiator with a few adjustments but I'll take it as is.
Edward Norton and Eva Green are perfect in their roles. Just as good are Brendan Gleeson, David Thewlis, and Liam Neeson.
The only other thing that could have made the film better would be if it were a little less obvious about its criticism of Christianity during the middle-ages. It just seems too easy to portray Christians as hypocrites and even though I'm all for a little religion bashing, I just prefer it to be disguised a little better.
Anyway, solid film 7.6/10.
I am of course referring only to the Director's Cut, as I remember being very underwhelmed by the original theatrical release. There are snippets of things making it into the CUT the probably still should have stayed on the cutting room floor, but the overall effect is that the film is much more nuanced and better paced. Its not hard to see this rivalling Gladiator with a few adjustments but I'll take it as is.
Edward Norton and Eva Green are perfect in their roles. Just as good are Brendan Gleeson, David Thewlis, and Liam Neeson.
The only other thing that could have made the film better would be if it were a little less obvious about its criticism of Christianity during the middle-ages. It just seems too easy to portray Christians as hypocrites and even though I'm all for a little religion bashing, I just prefer it to be disguised a little better.
Anyway, solid film 7.6/10.