A commercialized, cliff notes version of the Bible
The story of Jesus…yeah, that’s one that hasn’t been covered before. I am not a particularly religious person, though I admit that the story of Jesus is an intriguing one. This latest version comes from 20th Century Fox and is only falling behind Non-Stop at the box office.
Diogo Morgado plays possibly the best looking version of Jesus I have ever seen. Of course, it covers the basics. The trial, the crucifixion and the resurrection. Do I really need to do a synopsis? We already know how this movie ends.
Son of God was a bit white washed, when you compare it to predecessors like “Passion of the Christ:†which bordered on snuff film material. It cleans up the story of Jesus enough to make it suitable for a church picnic. If ‘the Passion’ made you flinch, then you can rest assured that there are no 45 minutes beatings in Son of God.
Morgado was chosen in the role of Jesus, probably due to his history of playing Jesus. He also starred in The History Channels version “The Bibleâ€, which was extremely similar to Son of God. One of the problems with Morgado is that he can’t seem to get his accent down. One minute, you’re listening to a guy from 13th Century Scotland and the next, you’re listening to a surfer boy from San Diego. Morgado, who is a model turned Portuguese Soap Opera star, appears to have limited range. Whether he’s getting flogged, being crucified or healing the cripples, his expression never changes. But Morgado does have presence. He’s one of those people who grabs the attention of everyone in the room. In order to play Jesus, I think that presence is far more important than acting skill.
Strange accent and limited range aside, it’s actually a very good effort that is less painful to watch than The Passion of the Christ, but not nearly as fun as Jesus Christ Superstar. The problems were more with execution, rather than story telling.
For example, the best score of a movie is a score that the viewer doesn’t notice. A score is designed to highlight the atmosphere, not tell the viewer what to feel. The score in this movie was over the top, burdensome and about as subtle as being bashed over the head with a cello.
Also, they could have done without Jesus talking to the guy on the cross next to him. Yes, I know that it is part of the story, but all I could think of was the Monty Python’s Life of Brian, where the same thing happens. Then I couldn’t get “Always look on the Bright Side of Life†out of my head.
The run time is a bit extensive, but the movie doesn’t drag. The best way to describe it would be as a cliff notes version of the Bible. It’s watchable, safe for squeamish viewers, and sticks to the traditional telling of the story. Son of God was a good effort that was clearly commercial.
Watch the Offical Trailer below:
[youtube id=”WcIXCok9HPg” width=”633″ height=”356″]
