I really enjoyed this movie -- once I realized I was watching yet another political statement from the film industry. Suspend any trust in historical accuracy and take it for what it is -- a great, fictitious story and spectacle based very loosely on historical events and characters -- and you'll enjoy it too.
Of course, the Christians are generally the bad guys and the Muslims generally the good guys. Monahan and Scott work hard to confess the sins of Christian atrocities during the Christian Crusades.
Historically, this is politically correct propaganda at its most laughable; as a movie, a work of fiction, it's dazzling. Great story, superb cinematography, decent acting, etc. All in all, it's a fully entertaining yarn.
The story only includes the Christian Crusades, which began four and a half centuries after Muslims first conquered Jerusalem -- the first Muslim Crusade against Jerusalem in 638 AD by the Muslim Caliph Omar, when all Christians in Jerusalem were slaughtered. Any historian knows that the Christian Crusades in 1099 were partly a response to Christian pilgrims being murdered on the way to Jerusalem, and partly a response to retake Jerusalem from the Muslims.
This wouldn't be so troublesome but for the fact that the film (at least on DVD) goes out of its way to claim historical accuracy. A few "documentaries" with historians are included on the DVD -- all telling how brutal and wrong and greedy the Christian crusaders were, which is indeed true. But that is only half the story. Not a word about the first Muslim Crusade of Jerusalem in 638. Imagine a movie about "America" that begins in 1865.
I'll give Scott and Monahan the benefit of the doubt that the story is accurate from 1099 onwards -- but, again, that is only half the story. In this film, Christians are the bad guys and Muslims are the wiser, peace-loving victims. No historical background or context to the Christian crusades is offered -- not in the movie, nor in the so-called "documentatries" on the DVD.
If you liked Braveheart and Gladiator, and have no interest in historical accuracy, then you'll like this film for what it is -- "historical fiction" or a fictitious tale based loosely on historical events. Saving Private Ryan was such a film.
If, however, you prefer seeing history come alive on the big screen, like Band of Brothers, which was very true to the actual people, events and places in its story, then this film may trouble you, in spite of its great storyline and entertainment value. It's probably not for you.
Take it for what it is -- a work of fiction based on selected historical events. You'll enjoy it, as long as you remember that you are not watching the whole, historical story.
Of course, the Christians are generally the bad guys and the Muslims generally the good guys. Monahan and Scott work hard to confess the sins of Christian atrocities during the Christian Crusades.
Historically, this is politically correct propaganda at its most laughable; as a movie, a work of fiction, it's dazzling. Great story, superb cinematography, decent acting, etc. All in all, it's a fully entertaining yarn.
The story only includes the Christian Crusades, which began four and a half centuries after Muslims first conquered Jerusalem -- the first Muslim Crusade against Jerusalem in 638 AD by the Muslim Caliph Omar, when all Christians in Jerusalem were slaughtered. Any historian knows that the Christian Crusades in 1099 were partly a response to Christian pilgrims being murdered on the way to Jerusalem, and partly a response to retake Jerusalem from the Muslims.
This wouldn't be so troublesome but for the fact that the film (at least on DVD) goes out of its way to claim historical accuracy. A few "documentaries" with historians are included on the DVD -- all telling how brutal and wrong and greedy the Christian crusaders were, which is indeed true. But that is only half the story. Not a word about the first Muslim Crusade of Jerusalem in 638. Imagine a movie about "America" that begins in 1865.
I'll give Scott and Monahan the benefit of the doubt that the story is accurate from 1099 onwards -- but, again, that is only half the story. In this film, Christians are the bad guys and Muslims are the wiser, peace-loving victims. No historical background or context to the Christian crusades is offered -- not in the movie, nor in the so-called "documentatries" on the DVD.
If you liked Braveheart and Gladiator, and have no interest in historical accuracy, then you'll like this film for what it is -- "historical fiction" or a fictitious tale based loosely on historical events. Saving Private Ryan was such a film.
If, however, you prefer seeing history come alive on the big screen, like Band of Brothers, which was very true to the actual people, events and places in its story, then this film may trouble you, in spite of its great storyline and entertainment value. It's probably not for you.
Take it for what it is -- a work of fiction based on selected historical events. You'll enjoy it, as long as you remember that you are not watching the whole, historical story.
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