Killing Jesus

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.

No need for a spoiler alert. This movie was spoiled before I wrote this. I understand that this was not the Bible. I understand that it was to depict only what was historically supportable. I understand that it was not a spiritual telling of the story. What I do not understand is how they managed to cast the lead with an actor who could not act. The actor portraying Jesus was terrible. O'reilly kept telling us on his FNC show that this Muslim actor "nailed" the audition. Given the performance I witnessed I can only believe that the actor was so nervous that he doubled up on the Valium. If not, the actor apparently nailed the audition by simply hitting his mark and mumbling his line (shades of Marlon in Apocalypse Now). I've seen greater emotional range from a cockatoo. When Jesus told his disciples, "Follow ME, and I will make you "Fishers of MEN!" I'm sure he gave it more emotion than the line, "would you like fries with that?". Too many better movies of the Bible - don't waste your time on the one. Try the one where Jesus ends up on Gilligan's Island.

-Killing Jesus (2015) movie review: -Killing Jesus is a TV movie by National Geographic, giving a look at the ministry and death of Jesus of Nazareth from both his perspective and the perspectives of those who ordered his death. This attempt as a religious telling takes a non-biased look at the story of Christ, essentially adding biased against the truth told in the actual story. I'll get in to that later.

-Technically, it was not that bad. I will review part of it from that standpoint. However I am also going to review the content and what it represents, which was less than satisfying for a film that only needed to do the same as the other hundred films like this one.

-The story was told from both the perspectives of Jesus' captors as well as Jesus, so it feels inconsistent. They also skipped a few points that help develop other points in Christ's ministry.

-The film had a slow start and an odd pace that rushed through a bit of time without letting the audience know. Rushed ending too.

-The acting is functional. Haaz Sleiman plays a good Jesus, but not a great one. It also has some people like Kelsey Grammar, Rufus Sewell, and John Rhys-Davies in it, who do a good job.

-The characters are not all that good or accurate. Jesus whines and at one point talks about how He wants to lead a rebellion with swords. Because that obviously happened. To make this part short, when it comes to characters there is almost no regard for the actual Bible.

-I liked the music. It was very Bear McCreary-esque.

-The production value was acceptable, and I loved that they had a Jewish looking Jesus. Other than that, this film is both factually and Biblically inaccurate through most of its passive attempt to tell the story of Christ. Ending it ambiguously while not having things like the Holy Spirit in it once just truly take everything out of the meaning.

-Technically, it is not terrible. It has a decent design, acting that is not too bad, and a good score. Biblically and historically, it gets little right and takes the extra step to ensure this comes from a non-biased worldview, which in turn takes God out of it. Killing Jesus is not worth the time.

-Killing Jesus holds a PG-13 rating for violence and some partial nudity.

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.

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.