Il vangelo secondo Clarence

I literally just made an IMDb account just now so I could leave a positive review of this film. It definitely deserves it. A fun ride of a non believer who slowly learns lessons through God he didn't know he needed. The music is also so nice. The ending was pretty perfect to me. Don't want to spoil things! Lakeithe Stanfield 100% deserves Oscar buzz for his performance. He made me laugh, think deeply and cry within this movie. There aren't many movies I can say that about. I saw it a week ago and I still am thinking of his character arc. To anyone that's said it's blasphemous and hasn't watched the movie, I assure you, this movie is great, it's not making fun or Jesus in any way. You watch and you will understand!

This film is very multi layered that many will miss the point of the movie.

One way to see this is a satire on people, particularly black people with little to no faith in God, and how they move in the world.

It's then a satire on how religion is exploited for one's personal gain. Think of many mega churches who look to prophesies on Jesus teachings and miracles.

Its then finally a satire on how people who we deem "unworthy" and how their soul is just as much worthy than everyone else's.

Intermixed in there is the relationship between the Judeans and the Roman's as an allegory between police/authority and the people they govern. Which may or may not have been somewhat factual since it has been proven that the people there would have been people of color. It may also give an introspection on why Jesus was hated by the Jews so much. But I digress.

I'd say give this film a second chance with these points, and you might find this movie a bit more favorable.

Oh and I love that Last Supper shot they had when they froze in place, that was dope.

The film could be argued that it deseverse a 4 or 5 based on the asking of its lead of. Lakeith Stanfield as always gives a great performance. But i couldn't help but think of life a brain. Another comedy based on the idea of a messiah opposite of Jesus Christ during the same time. This version though is just straight boring and too often just not funny at all. Stanfield is a performer whom you can't help warming to, although here, as sometimes in the past, I found myself wanting him to bring something extra in the third act, some new level of energy or anger. At the end of the day Lakeith Stanfield performance cant not save a boring comedy that is not nearly has funny as movie coming decades earlier that has the same idea.

Before I go negative, I have to give major props to LaKeith Stanfield. His performances are always convincing. And this is no exception. He kills it. I said wow multiple times. I think he's reached star status. The rest of the cast does a good job as well.

As for the movie overall, it's not actively bad in any way. A lot of it just feels off. The story is a bit clunky. Some of the jokes land while others don't. I'm not really attached to any characters other than the lead.

I just wasn't into it. I wasn't engaged and I had difficulty getting through it. Maybe it's just not for me.

I look forward to LaKeith's next project.

(1 viewing, 2/6/2024)

I felt like there was a lot going on while watching the film. The film started out strong with its Book 1. I loved how established the story is from the beginning. It was even funny to watch the characters so casually in such an ancient and medieval setting. Even the biblical references were coolly represented. But then I felt the story went spiraling down towards the end. It was not a linear kind of plot. It was multi-faceted, and I wish it was not. I would have toned down the film to a more simplistic plot and less runtime. But I must say this was LaKeith Stanfield's best performance to date.