Good evening ladies & gentlemen, and welcome to a session of movie reviewing after I had been absent from doing that for a couple weeks. Now, before I begin, I have a confession to make. The film that I’m about to review was not originally going to be the one that I made my 350th review. As a matter of fact, I had actually planned to review a different film that also happens to be based on actual events, but took place around a few decades ago. However, because we were approaching the Easter holiday, I decided to make a change of plans for once, and review a film that is based on one of the greatest events ever, as well as the reason why Easter needs to be recognized and celebrated in the first place. As far as the film that I was originally planning to make my 350th review goes, I’ve decided to now make that film maybe my 400th review, if not rewatch and review that one sooner. Well, with all of that out of the way, let’s review one of the most gruesome, and likely more realistic adaptations of the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Not to mention that this film is rumored to be the highest grossing R-rated film at least domestically (as more recent R-rated movies like Logan and Joker outgrossed this film in the worldwide market). Directed by Mel Gibson, it is the one and only The Passion Of The Christ.
Plot: The Passion Of The Christ takes place during Jesus’ (portrayed by Jim Caviezel) final twelve hours, from praying in Gethsemane, His crucifixion, and other events that took place around these points in time.
Now, we all may recall that this film was released back in 2004, yes? Even though Mel Gibson admitted in an interview on TV, that he made this film to show that we ALL crucified our Lord Jesus Christ, including Gibson himself, there was still so much controversy, and people feeling like this film blamed only the Jews for Jesus’s crucifixion. Well, this film, and the Bible both show that it was NOT only the Jews’ fault for Jesus’ death before He raised from the dead, but everyone else’s as well, the Romans, my fault, everyone else’s as well. Anyway, in regards to this film overall, did Mel Gibson do well with portraying how this historic event unfolded? For the most part, yes. To begin, he showed how brutal it was for Jesus to get beaten, mocked, and things like that. Not even in other live-action adaptations of this event has Jesus’ crucifixion been as brutal, and real as it actually was depicted here. It’s also cool how the script is in Hebrew, most likely, with English subtitles at the bottom of the screen. In addition to these elements, there are times when both Jesus in the film, and the audience watching the movie witness how present both good and evil at different points as The Passion Of The Christ progresses, most notably when it comes to the scenes in Gethsemane, and a couple other pints as well. Quite honestly, even if those may not have been 100% accurate, it was probably not far from true as to how points like that went down, you know? Not only that, but it’s also great that a lot of dialogue from Scripture is brought to life in this film as well. You also have John Debney, who composed the score. I don’t know about the rest of you guys, but I do find it interesting how Debney went from composing the score in the 2000 Disney film The Emperor’s New Groove to composing music here in Passion Of The Christ 3 1/2-4 years later, to then going back to Disney again several years later to compose the score for the 2016 live-action remake of The Jungle Book, along with some other films along the way as well. Yeah, much like Hans Zimmer, Debney definitely seems to have a variety of musical tastes. The movie also does really well with developing the central characters that need to be developed for this specific this film, whether it be Jesus, Judas, Peter, or any of the other important roles that were key for the events that take place. Finally, you have some flashbacks of events revolving around Jesus and the apostles. that took place before the crucifixion and Calvary.
So all of these sound really good, right? Well, while this film has these really good things listed above, there are some areas where the film somewhat suffers. For one, why not go the route of say the Lord Of The Rings films, and maybe turn this into a trilogy, as well as possibly make them around 170-180 minutes? Sure, you can tell that Mel Gibson, and the crew really did try with this film, but I’m sure many of us can agree that this film could’ve been a little better, and added that extra 50-60 minutes, or some running time like that. Now yes, it is rumored that a potential continuation for Passion Of The Christ is in the works. Still, let’s just say that this should have maybe began around perhaps Jesus’ ministry and gone to the Death and Resurrection, if not gone through some of the events afterwards. As for the ending, it’s a good ending, but it could have extended for an extra maybe 10-20 minutes, if not longer than that. Oh, and one more question! Why was a female selected to portray the devil in this adaptation? Not to say that was necessarily a bad thing, but one might find it a little strange nonetheless.
Well folks, that concludes my review for The Passion Of The Christ. It has it’s flaws, sure. Still, whatever flaws this film has, it makes up for it with the really, really strong elements of this film. I’d say still see this film if you want to see a movie about the death and Resurrection of Christ that is really close to being accurate to the actual Biblical account of this event. Just be warned that if you are expecting a film that covers plenty of events of Jesus’ life, you will be disappointed. However, if you’re okay with a version that does well with covering certain central points, and things like that, you’ll definitely enjoy this film. Despite this film not being perfect, The Passion Of The Christ is still a must-see. Check it out, and see what you think!
Final Grade: B+
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