Passion of the Christ
Posted by Tyler Kirk on Monday, May 16, 2011
A graphic and important take on the life of Christ.
To be honest, I wasn't expecting much from "Passion of the Christ".A lot of people have been saying that it's just 2 hours of Christ being tortured.I understand where those people are coming from, but they really missed the point.While about half of the film's running time is spent on the brutality that Jesus went through, and while the violence is very harsh and graphic, director Mel Gibson understands the topic of Jesus Christ and knows how to treat it with enough care that we're sucked into more than just the graphic violence but the Jesus character himself.James Caviezel gives an extraordinary performance as the Son of God, and I was into the character the moment he was being persecuted by the Romans.That's why this film works despite the long scenes of Jesus being tortured, because of the emotional depth for the character.If this was just some random guy being whipped and what not, the film probably would've been boring, but thanks to Caviezel's performance and the realistic brutality, "Passion of the Christ" is a daring attempt to repeat history through Hollywood film-making.
Now is it a great film? Did I love it for it's excellent portrayal of the final hours of Christ? No, I think it's a very well-done film and I think it DEFENITLY deserves to be seen at least once, but it's not a masterpiece that maybe some people will try to tell you.I must warn viewers that this isn't an easy film to sit through without cringing a few times.The whippings, the placing of the crown of thorns upon the Messiah's head, and his crucifixation are all shown in graphic and brutal detail.The most important thing about the violence is that it's done with a point, so it's not just a mindless gore-fest that Hollywood likes to throw out.If you can handle it, "Passion of the Christ" is a film that begs to be seen.It's nowhere near a masterpiece, but what you get out of it is a brave and realistic look through the eyes of Jesus Christ, the most important man in the history of the world.
Grade: B
To be honest, I wasn't expecting much from "Passion of the Christ".A lot of people have been saying that it's just 2 hours of Christ being tortured.I understand where those people are coming from, but they really missed the point.While about half of the film's running time is spent on the brutality that Jesus went through, and while the violence is very harsh and graphic, director Mel Gibson understands the topic of Jesus Christ and knows how to treat it with enough care that we're sucked into more than just the graphic violence but the Jesus character himself.James Caviezel gives an extraordinary performance as the Son of God, and I was into the character the moment he was being persecuted by the Romans.That's why this film works despite the long scenes of Jesus being tortured, because of the emotional depth for the character.If this was just some random guy being whipped and what not, the film probably would've been boring, but thanks to Caviezel's performance and the realistic brutality, "Passion of the Christ" is a daring attempt to repeat history through Hollywood film-making.
Now is it a great film? Did I love it for it's excellent portrayal of the final hours of Christ? No, I think it's a very well-done film and I think it DEFENITLY deserves to be seen at least once, but it's not a masterpiece that maybe some people will try to tell you.I must warn viewers that this isn't an easy film to sit through without cringing a few times.The whippings, the placing of the crown of thorns upon the Messiah's head, and his crucifixation are all shown in graphic and brutal detail.The most important thing about the violence is that it's done with a point, so it's not just a mindless gore-fest that Hollywood likes to throw out.If you can handle it, "Passion of the Christ" is a film that begs to be seen.It's nowhere near a masterpiece, but what you get out of it is a brave and realistic look through the eyes of Jesus Christ, the most important man in the history of the world.
Grade: B
