Killing Jesus

the purpose of this film is the big question who remains after its end. because it is not portrait of the Savior or the portrait of a Prophet. the Gospels are only pretext. the implication of good actors - decorative. and the desire to redefine His existence and work - wrong. too long, too innovative and unclear, it is an exercise to present a good guy who has not specific identity, who not gives a specific message, who looking like Christ but at the level of poor sketch. something missing. and it is something fundamental for do a credible story, to remind the word of Jesus, for be a real testimony about a mission and about sacrifice. it is not a problem of freedom of expression or about the religious believes. but the manner to send a credible vision about the second person of Saint Trinity.

This is not an anti-Bill O'Reilly review as some others are. I like Bill. I watch his show most nights. I have enjoyed all of his "Killing" books, and "Killing Lincoln" was the best non-fiction book I have ever read.

That said, the movie was a huge disappointment. Not sure I can say anything not already said, but to summarize the shortcomings, not with the book, but with just the movie:

1. Whoever cast Haaz Sleiman as Jesus made a horrible choice. While he looked more like a Jew of the period than some people who have played the part, his acting was just plain bad.

2. Having the actors mumble their lines (especially Sleiman) was not a good choice.

3. I have seen high school plays with more realistic-looking beards and wigs than the ones used in this movie. They were comical!

4. Jesus didn't know who he was until John the Baptist told him? Really?

5. Was 20 or 30 really the largest crowd they could buy to follow Jesus?

6. So the movie was designed to be emotionally dark, but did it have to be literally dark and hard to see at times as well? 7. The sound was poor.

8. Despite Bill's assurances otherwise, I found that some of the violence and torture was much more explicit and graphic than necessary.

9. Jesus seemed dazed and confused much of the time. What was the actor trying to portray? Was this just bad directing?

10. Jesus' accent changed from time to time. Sometimes he sounded like an Arab, sometimes like he was from India, sometimes Scotland, and sometimes the accent was just so heavy I have no idea what he was saying or trying to be.

In short, a great book turned into a terrible movie due to bad acting, directing, and production. At least you can watch it for free, but be prepared to turn it off before the end. I did.

I understand when you make a movie about the life of Jesus, there has to be some liberty taken since there are big gaps in the story-line. That being said, this movie version of Jesus's life is like no other I've ever seen and that is for all the wrong reasons.

As many reviewers have stated before me, there are so many historical inaccuracies I stopped keeping count. You never get to understand why this Jesus would have any followers at all. In this version, he is a nice guy but not much more.

Too many holes in the story make this movie not worth the time spent to make and watch it.

To quote Mr O'Reilly: "this is not a religious book. We do not address Jesus as the Messiah, only as a man who galvanized a remote area of the Roman Empire and made very powerful enemies while preaching a philosophy of peace and love." The book is the historical and secular version of the life of Jesus. I found the movie to be refreshing and interesting. The problem was of casting. Joe Doyle stood out as Judas. The rest of the apostles look to be Hebrews of the area. The movie assumes the viewer is familiar with events prior to Jesus's birth and his early life. This is a disservice to those who are not. Smoother transitions in time could have been done better. Over all it is a good movie and the young actor playing Jesus gives a solid performance.

I found this film highly watchable. It was excellent viewing. It presented the historical context of Jesus's life in an intelligent way, explaining the tensions and conflicts between the Romans, their Jewish puppets and the people. There are many moving scenes. Judas and his betrayal are treated in a refreshingly new way, avoiding stereotypes. There is something real and gritty about the portrayal which neither of confirms nor denies that Jesus was truly the son of God. This is a film which can move and appeal to even non- believers because there are no incredible miracles; only a brave and charismatic man preaching a new creed of love and forgiveness in a society where stoning was still the punishment for adultery. You don't have to believe in God to be humbled and moved by this powerful story of that message, and how Jesus paid the ultimate price for confronting and challenging the Jewish religious authorities.