<P> Online, general criticism has been also divided . Review aggregation website Rotten Tomatoes gives the film a score of 39% based on reviews from 189 critics . The site's critical consensus reads: "Although it's an objective and handsomely presented take on the Crusades, Kingdom of Heaven lacks depth ." Review aggregator Metacritic gives the film a 63 / 100 rating based on 40 reviews, indicating "generally favorable reviews" according to the website's weighted average system . </P> <P> In the time since the film's release, scholars have offered analysis and criticisms through a lens situating Kingdom of Heaven within the context of contemporary international events and religious conflict, including: broad post-9 / 11 politics, neocolonialism, Orientalism, the Western perspective of the film, and the detrimental handling of differences between Christianity and Islam . </P> <P> Academic criticism has focused on the supposed peaceful relationship between Christians and Muslims in Jerusalem and other cities depicted . Crusader historians such as Jonathan Riley - Smith, quoted by The Daily Telegraph, called the film "dangerous to Arab relations", calling the movie "Osama bin Laden's version of history" and would "fuel the Islamic fundamentalists". Riley - Smith further commented against the historical accuracy stating that "the fanaticism of most of the Christians in the film and their hatred of Islam is what the Islamists want to believe . At a time of inter-faith tension, nonsense like this will only reinforce existing myths", arguing that the film relied on the romanticized view of the Crusades propagated by Sir Walter Scott in his book The Talisman, published in 1825 and now discredited by academics, "which depicts the Muslims as sophisticated and civilized, and the Crusaders are all brutes and barbarians . It has nothing to do with reality ." Paul Halsall defended Ridley Scott, claiming that "historians can't criticize filmmakers for having to make the decisions they have to make...(Scott is) not writing a history textbook". </P> <P> Thomas F. Madden, Director of Saint Louis University's Center for Medieval and Renaissance Studies, criticised the film's presentation of the Crusades: </P>

Who plays the king in kingdom of heaven