It’s fitting then, that one of his most misunderstood films falls somewhere in the middle — and that, 20 years later, it feels more essential than ever. It had the look of an epic, but its story was totally empty of the substance a 140-minute film should have. In truth, though, Kingdom of Heaven will probably always be timely, if only for its treatise on inner faith. Kingdom of Heaven uses its characters to inform an epic plot, but its theatrical cut trades that for efficiency. It’s only in Scott’s much lengthier version that this politically murky, emotionally complex epic is truly allowed to shine.