THIS historical epic should count itself lucky that last year's terrible Troy and abysmal Alexander didn't strike it off the Hollywood list of "possible genres to make money".

So praise be for Britain's own Ridley Scott, who's still out fighting in the corner of swords-and-sandals flicks. Not content with establishing Russell Crowe as a hard-nut superstar - and winning him an Oscar in the process - in Gladiator a few years back, he's now out to get rid of Orlando Bloom's feminine side with this ambitious project set during the Crusades of the 12th century.

Bloom plays Balian the blacksmith, who has been traumatised by the suicide of his wife after the death of their baby.

Then, one day, Godfrey of Ibelin (Liam Neeson) passes by on his way to the Crusades in the Holy Land to drop the bombshell that he's Balian's long-absent father.

And so, after murdering the priest who orders the beheading of his wife's corpse, he sets off to join Godfrey and his men on their journey.

Needless to say, it becomes a rather eventful trip, resulting in Balian being shipwrecked and washed up alone on a beach in the Middle East.

He then has to set off to seek out his inheritance and serve the leper King Baldwin IV (Edward Norton), who is trying to keep the peace between Muslims and Christians.

This is a grand tale, encompassing years of history and the complex relations between warring factions in various religions.

But Scott's film succeeds because of the broader, more sweeping observations he seems to want to make about the whole scenario, given that identical power struggles still exist today, nearly a thousand years later.

Characters say things like "holiness is right action", and "I would rather live with men than kill them", a sentiment which does impact on the watching audience.

There wouldn't have been a Kingdom of Heaven without The Lord of the Rings trilogy, given the echoes of the Helm's Deep battle, in particular, with the final conflict here.

However, Scott still manages to entertain his audience, with wonderfully clear aerial shots and lovely details - birds circling the battlefield carrion - which enrich the lengthy viewing experience.

The two hours-plus do pass quickly. In the excellent cast, even the smaller parts are filled by British actors of the calibre of Kevin McKidd, David Thewlis and Michael Sheen, and the high standard of performance on the whole prevents too much of the burden landing on the slender shoulders of Mr Bloom.

His performance is a massive progression from his posing in Troy, and when he finally does unleash the rage, it's a relief all round.

He won't ever be a William Wallace/Maximus powerhouse, but at least he has a good stab at it.