Movie: Son of God

Listening right now to an interview with Mark Burnett and his wife who are coming out with a Christian take on Jesus. Burnett says he's a bible literalist -- earth created in seven days, miracles all real, Jesus as a real man. Advisors on the film include Joel Osteen and whatshisname Hagge, a couple of real nutcases.

Casting was difficult, they said. All of the extras are Middle Eastern but Jesus was cast as a fair skinned Hispanic - presumably to avoid angering the evangelicals.


Ought to be a laff riot.

23% on Rotten Tomatoes...  ouch.

I didn't know Osteen was involved. He's the only pastor who can talk normally, i.e. not saying anything about religion or scripture, yet still induce a gag reflex.

One reviewer said SOG made Mel Gibson's version seem really good. I haven't seen either and don't plan to. I think Jebus has been done to death... so to speak.

I enjoyed Scorsese's Last Temptation though. Kazantzakis's book was officially prohibited by the Vatican, so that's probably why.

I hope Hollywood loses a bundle on this spiritual investment fad their indulging in.

SAI2 wrote:

I hope Hollywood loses a bundle on this spiritual investment fad their indulging in.

Unfortunately Xtians have a lot of money and they flock(!) to anything that reinforces their delusions.

Quote :

Yikes. Christians, don't even bother.
28 February 2014 | by peej1992 (United States) – See all my reviews
I really didn't like The Bible miniseries. I thought it was way too Hollywood glam, and while the general idea was there, there were too many ad-libs with the story line. I figured maybe a motion picture would be better. I was sadly mistaken. This is one of the worst movies about Christ I have ever seen. I wish I knew what makes these directors think they can just change the greatest story ever told, but they do. And poorly. Dialogue is changed, scenes not from the Bible are added, etc. This movie is a train wreck. I hit the matinée, so I'm only out 7 bucks. But they did validate my parking, so it's not a total loss. But this movie is. Stay clear. Jesus of Nazareth is still the best movie about the life of Christ that I have ever seen.

You know it's bad when you're mentally correcting Jesus the whole time...
Author: aamgaetano
28 February 2014
This movie is an embarrassment. A wimpy, insecure Jesus spends two hours wandering around in a long, hippy-esque robe, hitting the high points of the Gospels and not even getting them right! I was mentally correcting Jesus the entire film, as only half the quote would be correct: The "Our Father" (you know, the quintessential Christian prayer...) left out the final line: "lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil." Not surprising, as evil was a completely non-existent theme in this movie about Christ- Who came to save us from sin and evil. Kinda a huge deal that was totally skipped over. Most striking to me of all was that you never sensed that Christ had a Presence. He seemed like a total wimp. And yet in His time, the people said, "What manner of man is this, that even the waves and sea obey Him?" Christ was strong, and His presence was compelling: men left family and livelihood and followed Him, such was the force of His personality. The Jesus of Son of God- honestly, I wouldn't even want to grab a beer with Him, much less be crucified upside down rather than denounce my faith in Him (Peter's death). Bottom line: if you are a practicing Christian and/or very familiar with the New Testament, don't go. The constant misquoting/leaving out key portions/ totally missing the entire point of a dialogue will drive you batty. If you're not Christian, definitely don't go. It's embarrassing to us Christians.