Son of God

I do have to take exception with the reviews that declare this movie 'boring' because it didn't go all out with special effects – or quote entire passages of the Bible. I thought that this movie was trying to portray a humble man who was simply going about the business of living out his destiny. Which is exactly who Jesus was. I found it refreshing not to have a slam-bang all-out special effects, miracle exploding on the screen, drama-in-you-face version of this life. The important points were there. In fact, just the important moments and quotes that were needed and wanted. I kept thinking as I'm watching, how could anyone have doubts about this Son of God when it was all such a life as usual, normal people time and yet….and yet…here we are 2014 years later, and this is still the most important person who ever walked on this earth. And everyone knows His name and what He did and who He was. No. This movie was precisely what it needed to be and no more. I took extra tissue, but still it wasn't enough. Watching the end of the earthly life of My Lord was so painful, so heart-rending that, indeed, I cried as much as I feared I would. Maybe more.

This movie was very enjoyable to watch, to experience how this could have happened from accounts written from John's memories and experiences. The problem with movies that are faith based, is that there will be people that will be negative about them for that reason alone. Or, if one goes to see this movie with preconceived notions that it is inaccurate and should be analyzed for errors, then you probably will not like anything about it because of your own attitude. However, if you go with the intention to watch a good movie and relax and take it all in, then you will be quite pleased. The actor who portrayed Jesus was excellent in making him to be so believably real, approachable, and charismatic. The man who played Pilot was my second most liked actor. He, too, was very believable as a Roman tribune with seething anger, annoyed with his assignment of keeping Jerusalem under control by thwarting any dissidents and rebel forces. Overall, I was pleased and inspired by this engaging film.

The Son of God is a powerful true story about Jesus Christ's story from his birth to his resurrection. It has been called a TV movie that got a theatrical release. That is true to a point. The effects and acting could have been better, but if you are going to see effects or acting then I suggest Gravity or American Hustle. The reason you watch a movie like this is to get a vague idea of what it was like to be Jesus or a disciple. The story was a bit jumpy, but it had about 30 years to cover in 2 hours. The center of the movie is about Jesus' last trip, to Jerusalem. The story itself is very moving and touching. It is a must see or Christians or anyone of faith. Diogo Morgado, Jesus, was phenomenal and a gem in this movie. All in all, it is gripping, heart-breaking, and captivating that will be sure to have you in tears.

Life of Christ is intelligently told in this highly regarded epic dealing with a dramatic recreation of the life of Christ with a mostly unknown cast . It is a religious and anguishing epic where the eternal questions of faith and doubt become resolved . It is narrated under view point of the Apostle John who is living in exile as he tells his story, as he results to be the last surviving disciple of Christ . This epic movie develops Jesus Christ's journey from Galilee to Golgotha is portrayed here in thought-provoking as well as enjoyable treatment .

Jesus was born to a Virgin Mary , and three visiting wise men , Three Magician Kings , declare "Him" the future King . 33 years later, an adult Jesus Christ (Diego Morgado) knows he has a destiny to fulfill and travels to Galilee and begins recruiting followers , they would become His disciples from Peter the fisherman (Darwin Shaw) , John (Sebastian Knapp) , Thomas (Matthew Gravelle) , Matthew the tax collector , the traitor Judas Iscariote to Mary Magdalene (Amber Rose Revah) . He also draws the attention of the Pharisees , the Jewish religious leaders as Caiaphas (Adrian Schiller) . As the Pharisees claim Jesus is blaspheming God by forgiving sins, which is something only God can do . Jesus responds by saying he is the Son of God . It is a colorful version of Jesus Christ's life , though overlong , with a true religious treatment and being spectacularly shot in 2014 and profesionally directed by Christopher Spencer . It chronicles the life and ministry of Jesus Christ from the Annunciation , Crucifixion , Resurrection , and to the Ascention . Interesting retelling at the life and teachings of Christ and his several miracles , along the way Jesus builds a huge following , who begin to call Him the Messiah. The film includes all of the major events referred to in the New Testament with descriptive Biblical passages ; his birth in Bethlehem and visit by three Magician Kings who , subsequently , go to the Palace of Herod the Great ; his baptism by John the Baptist ; the numerous miracles , such as : cripples walking , blind men seeing , the fishes and the loaves , Lazarus' resurrection . Adding appearance of notorious histocal/religious roles as Herod Antipas , Pilatus : Greg Hicks , his wife Claudia : Louise Delamere , Barabbas ,Joseph of Arimathea , Simon of Cyrene as well as his relationship to 12 apostles and so on . However , not completely reverential at some Biblical characters . And including holy sentences as "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?". Stars an agreeable Diego Morgado in exactly the right role , he gives a dedicated effort at the character , his acting has power , nobility and subtlety . Being a big budgeted production , produced by Roma Downey who also played Virgin Mary. In fact , this film is one of the episodes of the mini-series The Bible (2013) also financed by Downey and that was formed by the following chapters : Courage , Passion , Betrayal, Mission , Survival , Hope , Homeland , Kingdom , In the Beginning . Going on a second season in 2015 : A. D. The Bible Continues (TV Series) formed by 12 episodes . It packs a glowing and evocative cinematography with an attractive visual style . As well as enormous and majestic art design . And a sensitive and memorable soundtrack by the prestigious Hans Zimmer .

Jesus life has been adapted several times , such as : ¨King of Kings¨ (released in 1927) , it is the yardstick by which all Jesus movies are to be measure , being first silent version by Cecil B. DeMille with H. B. Wagner . ¨The greatest story ever told¨ (1965) by George Stevents with Max Von Sidow , Charlton Heston , José Ferrer , Sidney Poitier , Claude Rains , Dorothy McGuire , Sal Mineo, John Wayne . Other pictures dealing with his divine presence are the following ones :¨King of Kings¨(1961) by Nicholas Ray with Jeffrey Hunter , Robert Ryan , Ron Randel , Hurd Hatfield , Rip Torn , Frank Thring , Carmen Sevilla ; ¨Gospel according to Matthew¨ by Pier Paolo Pasolini with Enrique Irazoqui as Jesus ; ¨Jesus Christ Superstar¨(1977) by Norman Jewison with Ted Neeley and Carl Anderson ; ¨Jesus of Nazareth¨(1977) by Franco Zeffirelli with Robert Powell , Olivia Hussey , James Mason , Laurence Olivier , Anne Brancfort , Fernando Rey ; ¨Last temptation of Christ¨ by Martin Scorsese with Willem Dafoe , David Bowie , Harvey Keitel , Ian Holm , Harry Dean Staton ; ¨Jesus¨(1999) by Roger Young with Jeremy Sisto, Gary Oldman , debra Messing , Luca Zingaretti, Armin Mueller-Stahl , and ¨The Passion of the Christ¨ (2004) by Mel Gibson with James Cazievel , Maia Morgenstern and Monica Belucci .

There are a few caveats to this review. First of all, I didn't initially realize that this film was a spin off of The Bible miniseries from the History channel. It's one of those TV shows I was meaning to check out, but haven't found the time to, and then mixed reviews held me back. Secondly, I must admit that I'm probably not well-versed enough in the good book or theology in general to judge every single nuance of this film.

All that being said, I expected this film to be worse, given some of the reviews I've read. Some folks have written this off as a bore, but I found myself pretty well-engaged in the film. It runs pretty briskly, breezing through one scene after another to cover all of Jesus' life in a short couple of hours. There are bursts of melodrama, violence, political intrigue, and an overall sense of wonder at times. The film plays out in a straight and earnest fashion.

As far as the content goes, it's going to be a hit-and-a-miss. The film generally strings all the major events from the New Testament into some kind of narrative, although it's never clear where Jesus and his apostles are going from one minute to the next, and why. It's like they just wander around and do stuff, and when they get to where they're going, it's like, "hey, it's time for such-and-such a scene." So you see many of the major events one-after-another, but on a thin thread of a plot. Characters act the part, but nothing much is revealed about their deepest motivations or feelings, so they come off as one-dimensional caricatures.

The biggest issue with the film, however, are the artistic liberties taken with the source material. It's not word-for-word faithful to the Bible, which is understandable, since the film would have probably droned on for hours if it was. However, the film can be nit-picked for getting certain facts wrong: the manner in which Jesus resurrects Lazarus differs from what's in the Bible, Jesus causing a ruckus in the temple occurs way sooner than it should have, Peter denouncing Jesus thrice happens later than it should have, and so on. The film throws in more scenes with Pilate's wife, for no apparent reason. The biggest omission, however, is the absence of the most important villain: Satan. He's nowhere to be seen at all. I only learned later that these scenes were actually cut, because of concerns that Satan looked too much like President Obama. Ugh, really? Well, fine, whatever. Because of all that, Jesus only has to put up with evil people in this movie; the film does a fine job of underscoring the evil of human beings at certain times, but without the Devil tempting and testing Christ (and subverting humanity), some important lessons and themes are cut out (including the biggest one of them all: good triumphing over evil).

So what's left? The good news is that there are still a few solid messages in the film that Christians can relate to. Faith in Jesus is the biggest theme emphasized, and that's enough reason for many folks to love the film. I think the movie also does a fine and dandy job of highlighting the oppression and savagery of the era (for the film has its violent parts), which gives His sacrifice a bit more weight.

The film is crafted with okay photography and editing. Acting is nothing to scream about; Diogo Morgado looks the part and does his best to be warm and nice, but the man has no real commanding presence. Greg Hicks plays a total jerk as Pilate, for better or for worse. All the apostles are alright. I hated the writing in this film; most lines have been warped around to the point where they lost their impact (seriously, lines like "let he who is without sin cast the first stone" is delivered as "I'll give my stone to the first man who tells me that he has never sinned," and it just doesn't sound good). Most lines are over-simplified to the point of losing any sense of elegance; the whole mustard seed parable was truncated so much, I found it laughable and stupid. Even the Lord's Prayer had its last line cut off, further distancing the film from the real villain of "evil." The film's sets, props, and costumes are great. Special effects are bad. Music sounds like more of the same.

It's a straight dramatization of the key events of Jesus' story, and it gets some things right and some things wrong. Experts can probably nit-pick on many different issues, while novices may find the film enlightening. Christians in general may get a kick out of it regardless. If you're a fan of The Bible miniseries already, then the film is likely just an extended episode for you. As it is though, I personally value The Passion of the Christ the most, because it covers a lot of similar ground with more realism, more attention to detail, and more power. Son of God is a fine and dandy depiction, but little more.

3/5 (Entertainment: Pretty Good | Content: Average | Film: Average)