Crusaders, the RWDBs of the Middle Ages

Here's Ridley Scott's view of the opposing sides in the Crusades as portrayed in his soon-to-be-released film, Kingdom of Heaven:

I felt it was important to use Muslim actors to play Muslim characters. You see Saladin in private moments; you see his leadership, how he tries to keep the peace. He was under pressure from his people, and on the other side there was the radical faction of the Templars and other knights - what we might call the right wing or Christian fundamentalists of their day. He is a man with a strong sense of his destiny.

Sounds like the old good versus evil theme to me. It is surprising that Scott didn't manage to work "neo-conservative" in somewhere.