The Book of Mormon Movie, Volume 1: The Journey

The problem with the Book of Mormon Movie is that it isn't cinema. It's either a really expensive roadshow or a really bad made-for-TV movie. This film has no business being shown in theaters. It is, in fact, the kind of film that in the evangelical Christian market would have gone straight to video, available for purchase by catalog. The only reason this film is on the big screen is because the geographical concentration of Latter-day Saints makes that feasible. But just because it's feasible doesn't mean it should have been done.

As hoaky as I think Cecil B. DeMille's "The Ten Commandments" is, I have to give DeMille credit--he knew how to make a movie. He knew that you can't just put scenes from the Bible on screen. You have to play with the material, working biblical scenes into a unified narrative of your own creation, with a single dramatic trajectory carrying the audience through from start to finish. The makers of the Book of Mormon Movie didn't know to do that, or they were afraid to take the necessary liberties. They just put scenes from the Book of Mormon on screen. The result is a series of vignettes, not a unified narrative. There's no plot, no climax, no denouement. We just...well...plow through selected highlights of 1 Nephi and the opening chapters of 2 Nephi.

Why did Gary Rogers even bother making this film? I'm not a fan of turning the Book of Mormon into cinema in the first place. But if you're going to do it, do it right. Get ample funding. Get good writers. Do the research necessary to approximate the historical period. Take the liberties necessary to transform scripture into a cinematically interesting story. Don't just "put the Book of Mormon on the big screen."

Having read the Book of Mormon several times (many more times of First Nephi - many LDS members will relate) I have to say that somehow much was missed in the true spirit of the book. There were a few shining moments, but they still paled in comparison to the genuine book. I would like to say that this was a good movie and recommend it to everyone, but I cannot honestly say this. I was among many that thought it would be a good idea to bring these scriptures to life in movie form, but when I actually saw this rendering I was disturbed. The embellishments distracted from the text too much to be believable and there were things in the text that should have been left in yet were absent.

I am not going to say "Don't watch the movie" because there was a lot of good things in the movie regardless. You have to look beyond the low-budget production and mediocre acting to see what the producers and actors really tried to portray with this movie. I guess the thing that this (or any movie based on scripture) does is that it puts a face to the characters. Whether you thought these characters played their parts well or not is a matter of research and personal taste. No matter who you cast as these characters you are going to find disagreements in this matter. I do have to agree that Lehi was a disappointment as well as some of the other actors. I believe Nephi, Laman and Laban were done well for the most part. You have to remember though that the people who wrote the Book of Mormon were ordinary people, many with extraordinary commissions by nature of their callings (prophets, missionaries, warriors, etc.), not necessarily literary experts - this doesn't even take into account that they were writing in a language that was awkward for them to write because there was limited space on the plates.

Since there are inaccuracies and deviations from the original scripture in this movie, which I (and many other LDS church members) have been distracted by, you must really read the Book of Mormon and rely on that as your sacred scripture rather than this movie. It is certainly good that it draws people to reading the scripture that wouldn't have read it before seeing the movie, but for me after reading, studying and praying about the book I would have to say "read the book with intent to find the truth, but watch the movie for entertainment and enlightenment."

I saw the previews for this movie, and even though it looked really bad, I thought I'd go check it out anyway. I don't usually listen to critics when seeing a movie, instead choosing to decide for myself.

I'm not a mormon, although I have read the book of mormon several times prior to seeing the movie, so I understood the storyline. However, my worst fears were realized when I actually saw this film. The acting was flat, and unintentionally funny at times. I really had to bite my tongue to keep from laughing once or twice. It felt like the filmmaker was trying to go for a massive cinema experience, but it just didn't work. It didn't flow like I had hoped. Overall, it just felt like a B-movie, and I left the theater wishing I could've gone back in time so that I wouldn't have to see it.

I suppose that people interested in seeing this film will do so, one way or the other, but I'd suggest watching something else instead. Besides, it will inevitably be shown on TV in Salt Lake eventually, and at least you won't have to pay to see it then.

A note, I am an active Latter-day Saint.

First the bad...

I doubt Jews in Jeresalem in 600 BC looked like Anglo-saxons. Please find people that at least look Jewish to play the parts of Jews.

The make-up; a white woman with brown make-up to make her look Aboriginal or Jewish still looks like a white woman with make-up.

This movie was low-budget, and it looked like it. Everything seemed artificial; costumes, sets, minatures, it felt cheap. It didn't seem aged are blended in.

Lehi preaching, it seems the only thing he says is "The City will be destroyed, don't you understand" over and over. Couldn't think of any other dialogue?

Where were the master or establishing shots? There were very few, they would have helped the movie feel more complete.

The language seems inconsitant, sometimes it's modern, sometimes it's King James English. Pick one and stick to it.

This movie came off as low-rent, this is especially noted when Nephi is struggling to get free from his binds and the audience is laughing, rather than sympathising. This is becasue some parts of the movie are cheesy and that results in the audience not taking it seriously.

Cheesy parts #1... the brothers getting shocked, should have just left that out. Makes it seems like Nephi has magic powers, comes off weak.

Cheesy parts #2... Lehi's fake beard, it changes once from long straight and grey to short curly white.

Cheesy Parts #3... The aging of the characters wasn't belivable.

Cheesy Parts #4... the voice of God depicted with a deep voice and allot of reverb, cliché. Find a new way to do this. How about a soft whisper?

Cheesy Parts #5... Lemuals re-action to the angel, supposed to be a serious moment but is laughable because of his reaction.

Cheesy Parts $5... The Lamanites at the end dancing around a fire with war paint. Comes off over the top.

Now the good...

The acting was good 95% of the time, Laman was the best acted in this film.

Laban being murdered, I really like how this was done (other than the clichéd treatment of the voice of God) and it had good emotion.

Nephi's vision of being shown was is to come, again good emotion, and good editing.

Montage while Nephi is bound, well done.

We get a good sense of the conflict between Nephi and Laman.

I thought that the added dialogue (stuff not from scriptures) was good and blended scenes well. I enjoyed the added homour and seeing Nephi and his brothers bond after having conflicts.

The Joseph Smith stuff I thought was well done, except Moroni's visit, just seemed out of place the way it was done.

Final word. Before the next one, take the time to secure more money and make it the way it should be, a grand epic. Pretty good job for a first time director and allot of first time actors. I wouldn't see this one again but I would see the next installment.

Wow. I just got done seeing this movie, and I have to say, it was a dissapointment. I love the Book of Mormon, but this movie pretty much misses the mark on many levels. Poorly casted, the costumes were awful, the acting was fairly bad, the script was poorly adapted, the cinematography was flat and uninspiring, the movie was slow and very long. I just hope people do not go out to see this movie in order to see just what the "Mormons are all about". Please do not see this movie in substitution of reading the book. Don't use this movie as a followup, either. The power of this book is astounding, something the movie almost fails completely to do. It has one or two inspired moments, but that's it. Please, if you're interested in the Book of Mormon, contact missionaries or your LDS friends, you'll recieve a free copy from them.