ryhill2012
What's awful about this movie is the writing and some of the acting. With the well known leads this movie had i would have thought the script would have been better. But it was lack luster and at times B-movieish. Maybe for an independent, low budget, no name film, I could understand the rush of dialogue and the gloss over of these characters. I would have preferred an in-depth understanding of them. More "game of thrones" style set in the Arabian desert. From the trailers I saw, I assumed it would be better. But this is definitely NOT that!Then half-way through the film the action sequences start. While the tactics are fun to watch, it's all rushed and hurried, with little thought to if scenes make plausible sense or not. By 3/4's of the way thru the film its back to being a B-movie. Something to laugh at more then take seriously.You want this film to be good, but it just isn't.
Mary Poppins
The only complaint I have is that having some knowledge of Arab cultures, and also having children, and watching the Shrek movies, Antonio Banderas is not my idea of an Arab at all, least of all a sultan or emir. Throughout his scenes, well acted surely, I kept visualizing the cartoon cat character from said children's shows. I do not watch movies with him in it generally, so this was a minor distraction, often humorous, when it did not befit the movie itself.However the rest of the movie was wonderful. I am giving it a 9/10 stars, minus one for casting Banderas, who is far too apologetic to play a major Arab leader. I was disappointed highly with his performance, but everyone else was well cast and played. The one brother, Saleh, surprised the plot a little, and it was difficult to tell who was the Ibn Idris character and who was the brother Tariq. I spent most of the movie thinking Ibn Idris was the brother, so now I will need to review the earlier scenes specifically for those purposes.I appreciated the rich religious and cultural references and this would serve as a minor introduction to Arab culture, although I agree with another reviewer who cited it as fiction. Honor can always be enhanced thru fictional heroics. For example, the bedouin Bani Zamiri woman who he freed, he could easily have done a marriage with her, at any point. I really liked the emphasis this movie plays on religious conservatism, and how well it is paired with progressive thought. This breaks away from 'stereotyping' Arab actors, very well. They have representation of diverse Muslim-Arabs (I really enjoyed the inclusion of "African" and "Asian" actors), and it's overall a stunning, impressive story. I would gladly watch this if it went on longer. It is well worth watching if you have any interest in the topics of Islam, Arab culture, and perhaps even warfare. It's really not that bad when it comes to the fight scenes. I see much worse in Hollywood movies. It seemed a bit strange that the female lead was so beautiful compared to the other characters, and I found her to be a bit boring and cliché, poor acting that seemed out of character; ie. 'submissive' at wrong times to husband and then nonsubmissive to the father at all times. Some things that were not very clear included the costumes, such as why did he, in the end, (Emir Auda) wear his mother's tribal colors? Reviewing the beginning, it is nice to see how Prince Auda develops from a shy child to a wise leader, very much like the opening scene with his father, where his father is cautiously, carefully listening to Antonio Banderas' character. Speaking of which, it irks me how nearly everyone else is a 'proud' Arab character, but Banderas seems to skulk, and plays a bit of resentful sod, not an Arab. The rest of the actors are much better.
Tony Heck
"I'll be richer then the King of England." After years of war Emir Nesib (Banderas) defeats Sultan Amar (Strong). They form a treaty saying that the desert strip that separated them will be a no man's land belonging to no one and as a guarantee Nesib takes Amar's two sons to raise them as his own. When a Texas oil man shows up and promises Nesib riches beyond his dreams he jumps at the chance but Amar does not agree. When Nesib sons one of Amar's sons to make a treaty it is not taken well and the son must now pick sides with his father or stay with the woman he loves. I will again open with a disclaimer...this is not my kind of movie. The acting is OK and the movie itself is not bad but to me movies like this are just a little too long and drawn out to really get into. If you are a fan of movies like Lawrence Of Arabia and stuff like that you will probably really enjoy this. To me it was OK but kind of boring, but again this isn't my kind of movie. Overall, if you are a fan of this genre you will most likely really enjoy this. I give it a B-.
Saad Khan
Black Gold – TRASH IT (C-) Black Gold seems like an ambiguous French/Arabian project but sadly the ambitions for only in spending around $55 Millions. The production value of the movie was great but the direction, execution and mediocre performances made it intolerable for me to sit through. Initial 30 minutes are watchable but after that movie becomes tedious. The performances by Antonia Banderas, Mark Strong, Frieda Pinto and Tahar Rahim are alright. Riz Ahmed's overacting cannot be ignored he needed to tone down a little. In the end, Black Gold is way too loud and intolerable to seat through 2hours. The story had potential but bad direction tanked the whole concept of wars on Black Gold.
