Son of God

Any movie that has to do with the Bible or Jesus that begins with, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God” has to come from a bunch of people who probably did not have anything creative to offer in the first place.  And it is that lack of creativity that is reflected every step of the way in what I can only classify as a docu-drama.

Son of God was neither a documentary nor the Epic that it could have turn out to be.  Instead, Christopher Spencer’s first attempt at a full length feature film (not a documentary) turns out to hang somewhere in between.  I am not sure whether to attribute this to his lack of exposure to mainstream cinema or just a lack of competence.  I am inclined to think that it was the latter.

To begin with, there is absolutely no intensity in the script or narration.  One can probably spend their time better but just reading The Bible.  The lines are picked up verbatim from the Book of the Lord.  As if, there was a contractual obligation to have 0 deviations.  Writers Richard Bedser, Christopher Spencer himself, Nic Young and Colin Swash have fancier names than their writing.  Terribly disappointing.

And if that was not enough to deter you from watching the entire movie, you will find the acting to be as forced as imaginable.  The fact that Diogo Morgado (Jesus Christ) will be sharing credit with the likes of Max von Sydow (1965), Robert Powell (1977) and Jim Caviezel (2004) to name a few is even more disappointing to know.  Morgado needs to first qualify as an actor and then considered for a part this big.

In a movie that is supposed to inspire hope and faith, one finds none at all.  Ironically, the only composed and collected actor is the one who isn’t supposed to be the good man.  Greg Hicks as Pontius Pilate gives you the only few instances where some acting is on display.  Unfortunately there are fewer scenes involving Hicks than one would have liked.

A movie that is based on someone who is arguably regarded as one who shaped humanity deserved to be more intense and one that creates a high impact.  There are enough and more instances of cinema that portray Jesus Christ.  Few make it to the level accepted and so Spencer can take some solace there.  But this lifeless piece of work is best avoided.  The producers even missed a trick by not releasing on Easter weekend.  2 on 10.

Watch the trailer on http://www.imdb.com/video/imdb/vi3056248857/?ref_=tt_ov_vi