Alright guys, I saw this movie yesterday so here is my own personal review of it:
What a powerful film. For the most part it was accurate and the creative liberties that Mel Gibson took were insightful and for the most part appropriate. One of the biggest critcisms of the movie has been it's focus on the violent beating and crucifixion of Jesus. I found the movie to be less violent than I had expected. The violence was often interrupted by flashbacks and scene changes and I didn't find it excessive. Probably the main reason that I didn't find it excessive was that I have done several research papers on crucifixion and flogging and I believe that it was in fact, worse in real life than it was portrayed in the movie. One part I did have an issue with was when the theif on the cross mocks Jesus and a crow comes and pecks his eye out. This is not in the gospels and it seemed excessive and an ill-portrayal of of a loving God. I also felt that the movie ended poorly. We have just watched 2 and a half hours of torture, mockery and cruel death and the movie ends in a 30 second scene of the resurrection. It just seemed to end too abruptly. This movie however has given me a lot of insight into the last passionate hours of Jesus' life. He is portrayed as a human being that experiences the pain and sorrow of rejection, mockery and abandonment, but as someone that choses to go through this for the love of those that he wishes to save. I would highly recommend this film on the stipulation that it is not percieved as the true gospel but only a film-maker's portrayal of his understanding of the last hours of Jesus' life on earth. Check it out guys, it will really make you think and I hope you will be as touched by it as I was.
