Son of God, the silver screen spinoff of the History Channel miniseries The Bible, endeavors to bring the story of Christian prophet and savior Jesus Christ to a mass audience.
Directed by Christopher Spencer, Son of God is a cut-and-paste edit of the ten-hour miniseries that aired on the niche network last year. The story of Diego Morgardo’s Jesus focuses primarily on the events that unfold after Jesus meets Peter and continues through to his death and resurrection. While the miniseries was a smash hit, the feature’s reception from critics is far from warm.
Aside from a few generous reviews, including one from The Seattle Times critic John Hartl, the majority of the feedback on Son of God indicates that The Bible producers Mark Burnett and his wife Roma Downey should have quit while they were ahead. The biblical epic, while appreciated for its coherency, has received ample criticism for its lack of depth.
“What a pleasant surprise: a biblical film that doesn’t turn into a gory freak show or a speculation about the marital status of Jesus and Mary Magdalene. Instead, Son of God offers a rational, straightforward, contemporary take on the life of Jesus, filmed in Morocco and starring a Portuguese actor, Diogo Morgado, who brings an infectiously revolutionary spirit to the central role. “– John Hartl, The Seattle Times
“Let he who is free of snark cast the first stone on Son of God, the rare Christian film to get wide release in the United States. Jesus of Nazareth's accent changes frequently, with dialects ranging from 13th century Scottish to 21st century San Diego. Jerusalem looks as if it was built in a few hours out of balsa wood and an X-Acto knife. There appears to be more hair product being used in this movie than in an entire season of Dancing With the Stars." – Peter Hartlaub, San Francisco Chronicle
“The story, which follows Jesus from nativity to resurrection, is essentially a series of greatest-hits miracles. Jesus casually multiplies a loaf of bread and some fish into a feast for a crowd, raises Lazarus from the dead and walks across the surface of a storm-tossed sea in a manner befitting a superhero. It can be argued that Jesus is the ultimate superhero, but this film's approach seems to trivialize the dawn of Christianity into a top-10 list of exploits and famous phrases.” – Claudia Puig, USA Today
“He walks on water, heals the sick and raises the dead. But not even Jesus can transform Son of God into a compelling epic… [Diego Morgado] does deliver well-known lines with a sincere conviction one might expect from a world-changing religious figure. Morgado’s spirit is clearly willing, to paraphrase the Book of Matthew, but the film is weak.” – Elizabeth Weitzman, New York Daily News
The Bible hit theaters today, Friday, Feb. 28.
– Chelsea Regan
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