Aylmer to Zazzoo and Beyond: Son Of God

Sunday, March 2, 2014

Son Of God - Movie Review

Son Of God

(2014 - February 28)
Drama
2 hr. 18 min.

Rated: PG 13 | Not quite as bloody and violent as The Passion of the Christ | Read more

Grade: C+

Director: Christopher Spencer
Writers: Richard Bedser, Christopher Spencer, Colin Swash, Nic Young
Stars: Diogo Morgado, Amber Rose Revah, Sebastian Knapp | See full cast and crew

This major motion picture event -- an experience created to be shared among families and communities across the U.S. -- brings the story of Jesus' life to audiences through compelling cinematic storytelling that is both powerful and inspirational. Told with the scope and scale of an action epic, the film features powerful performances, exotic locales, dazzling visual effects and a rich orchestral score from Oscar®-winner Hans Zimmer. Portuguese actor Diogo Morgado portrays the role of Jesus as the film spans from his humble birth through his teachings, crucifixion and ultimate resurrection.

I expected Son Of God to be better and I wanted it to be better. Unfortunately, it is comes across as a very bland retelling and often violent retelling of the story of Jesus. The costumes are serviceable, the CGI and miniature model sets are unconvincing, and the acting, Oh, the acting! Sadly this film quickly devolves into a campy, dull, heavy-handed melodrama. Roma Downey's scenes are particularly egregious. Her over acting is epic. Portuguese actor Diogo Morgado's portrayal of Jesus is like a smug, hippie, you know, the 'a little too mellow' organic vendor at the weekend farmers market, who talks down to you while extolling the merits of hemp milk and hemp fiber...dude.

The film is an abridgment of the History Channel's (that in itself is enough to hobble the film right from the start) The Bible miniseries focusing solely on Jesus' ministry years, his death, and resurrection.

There are truly some moving and touching moments, especially for believers, but they are far too few.

Many liberties have been taken with the source material, for example, King Herod's role in Jesus' crucifixion is completely omitted. Son Of God takes a particular Catholic doctrinal bent, with which I have no issue, but the theological direction is obvious. I give the filmmakers kudos for making a film intended for family viewing (or my C+ grade would have been lower). Son Of God is worth a view, but don't go expecting a classic. In the end it is a very forgettable film. The cinematic weakness are far too many for it to appeal to more that the built in audience of faithful believers. It is highly doubtful this film will have much staying power beyond the first few weeks of its release. There are a few more ambitious religious based films that will be arriving in the theaters over the next two or three months hopefully these will be more successful and of higher quality.