Son of God (6/3/2014)

Rated PG-13 for intense and bloody depiction of The Crucifixion, and for some sequences of violence

Directed by Christopher Spencer (The Bible)

Starring Diogo Morgado, Roma Downey and Sebastian Knapp

As you might expect, the movie is good, but the book is so much better.

Now, the larger-than-life story of The New Testament gets a larger-than life treatment in the stand-alone feature Son of God. 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 Jesus as the film spans from his humble birth through his teachings, crucifixion and ultimate resurrection. It marks the first motion picture about Jesus’ life since Passion of the Christ, released ten years ago.

There has been a lot of controversy surrounding this film – unfortunately most of it has been coming from within the church. Some people have complained that Jesus was to “wimpy,” others were distraught over phrases Jesus said and others were distraught over phrases He didn’t say.

Allow me just a brief moment to share my two cents. In my experience, too many Christians accept inferior art as long as they agree with the message. So films like Facing the Giants and God’s Not Dead will always find an audience. I’ll be the first to say that I appreciate and value the message in those films. But they lack a certain quality when compared to major motion pictures today.

This film is very well done. The acting, directing and editing are all of the highest quality. But article after article criticized the film for being everything from extremely liberal theology to New Age heresy. Some people were upset that familiar scenes of the life of Jesus were left out while others were critical of artistic license given to some conversations that Jesus and his disciples may or may not have had.

Let’s remember two things. First, John himself says not everything Jesus said or did was recorded in the gospels because all the libraries in the world would not be able to contain the books. And secondly, this is one person’s interpretation of Jesus’ life.

I mention all of that to simply say that Son of God is artistic, beautifully crafted and (from my readings of the gospels) a decent representation of Jesus Christ.

Diogo Morgado is a great Jesus. He’s strong and compassionate and plays each scene perfectly. But his strongest feature is his eyes. There are several scenes where his eyes pierce through the other characters and right through the audience.

Roma Downey is a decent Mary and Sebastian Knapp is great as John. I could have done without Amber Rose Revah as Mary Magdalene, who upstaged Mary, the disciples and even Jesus himself.

The biggest negative I had with the film was the fact that I’d already seen 90% of it on the History Channel a few months ago. I kept saying to myself, “This movie is really good, but why did I pay $10 to see something I’ve already watched on TV?!”

But, I would definitely take my unsaved friends to see this film. I think it’s “Theater Worthy.”

SHOULD KIDS SEE IT?
This film is perfect for teenagers. It shows a realistic crucifixion scene that is graphic, but not as graphic as The Passion of the Christ.

I would say it is too intense for younger viewers.

CONVERSATION STARTER:

1. In the beginning of the film, John says that he is a follower of Jesus because of all the things he witnessed. Why do you follow Jesus?


2. Read John 20:29
   
   Then Jesus told him, “Because you have seen me, you have believed; blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.”
   
   
3. Do you sometimes find it difficult to follow Jesus because you can’t see Him?


4. What are some things you can do this week to strengthen your faith in God?