Problem: 1. In the tradition of Gladiator and Braveheart comes the latest Orlando Bloom epic. Yawn.
2. Kingdom of Heaven is often stunning to behold. Regrettably, the director's grasp of narrative and pacing is far less assured on this film.
3. Unfortunately, you don't have to see Kindgom of Heaven to learn how it ends. You just have to turn on CNN.
4. While it will soon be forgotten and its central message ignored by those in power, it's a great looking film that's better than recent 'epics'.
5. Like Scott's Gladiator, the movie simultaneously embraces and rises above the sword-and-tunic clichés that define it.
6. The human drama is cut short in favor of all the battle scenes... they should have thrown this lame Christian script to the lions and made another Gladiator.
7. If the picture isn't as engaging as it should have been, Scott's images still make it entrancing.
8. Another in a recent line of sword-swinging epics that insists on adding ideas to bloody spectacle.
9. Filmed in Morocco, in Spain and in computers, Kingdom fills a vast canvas with breathtaking spectacle. In contrast, most of the performances are blandly ordinary.
10. The somber Kingdom may not provide an epic's anticipated escapism, but it serves as a salient reminder that hundreds of years later these battles are still being waged.
What is the consensus?
****
Answer: Although it's an objective and handsomely presented take on the Crusades, Kingdom of Heaven lacks depth.


Problem: 1. Portray(s) the future in a monotone drone, forcing the poor actors to murmur their flat, lifeless dialogue.
2. Cirque du Soleil downloaded into a three-ring video game.
3. It probably looked like a good idea on paper.
4. "Aeon Flux" is thoroughly ridiculous, all but begging to be laughed out of the multiplex and into the second-run theaters.
5. Bad special effects, bad action, bad costumes -- bad everything.
6. The tag line is, 'The Future Is Flux.' Personally, I think they left the 'ed' off that last word, and it's not only the future that's in this state, but the movie itself.
7. Breeds plenty of contempt.
8. An impersonal slab of sci-fi sameness, Aeon Flux wears its lethargy like a badge of honor.
9. It's as if someone just swept up the floor at the Sci-Fi Factory, and instead of tossing the junk into the garbage, they glued it together and called it a movie.
10. The movie should have been called Aeon Sucks.
What is the consensus?
****
Answer: Aeon Flux lacks the gravity-defying pace of its animated predecessor, and, despite some flash, is largely a dull affair.


Problem: 1. Unadulterated poppycock.
2. M. Night Shyamalan's films are so different from the rest of the multiplex population that it surprises me that contemporary, supposedly impatient audiences would sit still for them.
3. Sets a new standard for genre pictures.
4. It is especially delightful for those who like puzzlers and think they can gather enough clues to take a stab at guessing the outcome.
5. During a conversation between an astonished doctor and a miraculously unscathed Dunne ... it's a measure of Shyamalan's restraint and his uncanny knack for storytelling.
6. Well-crafted, even thought-provoking film that's seriously marred by an awful ending.
7. Extremely competent in the hands of its crew.
8. Unbreakable is a compelling yarn.
9. Until the last-minute letdown, Shyamalan does a superb job of setting up his scenes.
10. If you can manage that precious, tentative suspension of disbelief, you'll find Unbreakable a rewarding meditation on the nature of heroes, both comic book and otherwise.
What is the consensus?
****
Answer:
With a weaker ending, Unbreakable is not as a good as The Sixth Sense. However, it is a quietly suspenseful film that intrigues and engages, taking the audience through unpredictable twists and turns along the way.