The Passion of the Christ

[PainMiseryDeath]

I just saw The Passion of the Christ tonight. Fantastic! Way better than I thought it would be. A very powerful movie, I would recommend it to anyone. It's not just a religious drama for religious audiences, it goes deeper than that as a human drama about a mother's love for her son and a man's ultimate sacrifice for the people he cares for. At the end of the movie as the credits rolled, the whole theater was clapping! That does not happen too often around here.

Best movie of the year so far methinks. Any thoughts?

 

[charnee]

!! I want to see it so bad.. some kids at my school on Wed. left early just to go see it.. I couldn't. I will probably go see it Sunday or tomorrow if its not sold out. Yeah, I heard it was the best movie and everyone cried and stuff.

 

[Episteme]

I'll have to go watch this as well but lately I have no money.

 

[Flaming Death]

I saw it. it is an excellent movie.

 

[The Serpent King]

I'll probably go see it tonight or Sunday night.

 

[Edgecrusher]

I was thinking about trying to type out a well-thought out review and reflect on the religous aspects of the film, BUT since I am short on time at the moment, I think I'll go with the brief smart-ass opinion:

JESUS CHRIST THIS MOVIE WAS BORING!

 

[Varulv]

For a Christian movie, it was quite good. I thought some parts were kind of hokey, but I would since I'm not a Christian.

 

[speed]

I havent seen it yet, I will when I get some time. However I underatand it only portrays the physical suffering and sacrifice of jesus, not his spiritual questioning of god and himself. Is this right?

Also, I am bit perturbed that GIbson let the ROmans off the hook( or so I hear), when that seems the whole point of Jesus message, to overcome and replace the earthly empire- with a heavenly empire.

 

[DiscipleOfPlato]

I saw it yesterday and I feel compelled to profess how vastly overrated it is. This is the film that managed to inspire so many individuals? This is the film that left moviegoers so profoundly astounded and awestruck? Please people, it's merely a Mel Gibson film, and it isn't even his finest work.

The film was simply an excercise, or rather, an abuse of violent aesthetics. It was completely lacking in any substantive depth or interesting dialogue, thus eventually drawing it to the point of sheer tedium, and near the end it began to act like religious propaganda (with the alteration of past and present scenes that possessed no correlation whatsoever).

That being said though, the filmmakers deserve all of the accolades for accomplishing such a powerful technical feat. In the end, Mel Gibson achieved what he set out to do, which was to convey Jesus's message through his immense suffering, and for that the film deserves acclaim.

Still, I walked out of the theater contemplating, "Eh, 'The Last Temptation' was better."

 

[speed]

yeah I just watched Last Temptation Sat, it was on bravo. I loved it, it really made one think about ones own spirituality. I couldnt get over Harvey Keitel as Judas, with Red Curly hair- he was truly miscast.

 

[DiscipleOfPlato]

yeah I just watched Last Temptation Sat, it was on bravo. I loved it, it really made one think about ones own spirituality. I couldnt get over Harvey Keitel as Judas, with Red Curly hair- he was truly miscast.

YES! It is indeed a wonderfully provocative film, and Scorsese's finest, in my opinion. If you were fond of that film, I would recommend "Bringing out the Dead," not because it pertains to religion or the film's subject matter in any way, but because it's another fairly-obscure Martin Scorsese picture that unfortunately doesn't garner as much global recognition as it should.

Also, if you were merely referring to his physical appearance, I would have to concur on Harvey Keitel, but I also detected a certain note of disbelief from you in regards to the way he conveyed the role of Judas(I could be wrong), in which case I staunchly disagree. Although he certainly didn't depict an ideal Judas with his appearance, I believe he played the role exceedingly well. Again, just my opinion.

 

[speed]

Plato- I have seen Bringing Out the Dead- Nic Cage is brilliant, as is the movie. I think any Scorcese movie written by Paul Shrader is always a masterpiece.

As for Harvey Keitel I suppose i got over his casting as the movie went on, he did do a good job playing the emotions of the part, but with that goofy dye job and brooklyn accent, you have to admit it was a bit of a stretch.

Do you like the Peter Gabriel soundtrack of Last Temptation? I loved it!

 

[DiscipleOfPlato]

Paul Schrader certainly deserves all of the extollment he garners. An excellent writer, and since you're a fan of his, I won't even ask if you've seen "Taxi Driver."

Although I don't own the actual soundtrack, Peter Gabriel composed the perfect score for the film. Very impressive work.

 

[CorpseEater666]

I'd rather eat shit than see that movie.

 

[perfecterror]

yes i agree totally. the passion of the christ was one of the best movies i have ever seen. it is love, jesus is love. no, the movie wasnt a "religious" movie... it was about jesus and the sacrifice he endured to save us. i never liked the word, "religious" it has a negative conotation, that portrays the dogma of the "religion" and looks past the TRUE reson why i am a christia. Jesus is who saved me, not a priest not a church.... he is the one i follow, when people ask me if i am "religious" i say that i am a 'follower of Jesus." A lot of really bad things have happend in my life latley, actually too bad to write on any forum, i just can't write them. Jesus is the only thing that has gotten me through the worst part of my life this last 2 months... he has given me strength, faith, and an undescribable amount of love. he is the only TRUE love. -- jayme

 

[Over Broen]

im not trying to argue or start a disscussion here but even if i was christian i wouldnt see this movie mainly because i dont need to pay hollywood fat cats to believe in my gods in fact i dont need to pay anything. i see this as one cashgrab they know will make money. capitalizing on peoples religious beliefs is extremely wrong in my opinion. and really what is bigger in terms of profit and more easily and readily accessable than the movies something that old and young will see, and with the excellent recomendation by mel gibson "even if you are not christian you should go and see the film" sorry but im not why would i see a movie about yes, yes i know it gives a message for the whole world to be peaceful and whatnot . but surely a story about budda would do the same? or what about any other religious figure? why christ?

 

[Evil Ernie]

I watch a lot of gore movies, and I think this one was one of the hardest to stand. The point of this picture is to show the absolute love of the Christ. Well done. I think the violence is appropriate (the Bible is a very violent book, just think how Alex enjoys it in Clockwork Orange...) but kinda excessive. No one could have endured that much physical pain, a human body just don't have enough blood for that kind of treatment. I was also surprised to see Jesus nailed through his hands, as he was nailed through his wrists (it is proved that his hands would not have been able to support his weight), and the eye eating crow in the end was kinda unrequired (God is not supposed to punish sinners in such a cruel way, isn't he?). Excellent screenplay.

I recommend this movie.

 

[DiscipleOfPlato]

Excellent screenplay.

Are you mad? That was one of the most ridiculously generic screenplays I've ever witnessed! Honestly, I've written better haiku poems.

 

[LordFireworm]

I agree that the screenplay was rather inept but the cinematography and locations were beautiful.
It was fairly well acted too.

 

[feralkid]

That was one of the most ridiculously generic screenplays I've ever witnessed! Honestly, I've written better haiku poems.

Considering the source material, what exactly were you expecting? Mel drew from The Dolorous Passion... as well as The Gospel Of John, and excepting certain liberties (Satan, etc.), the film is supposed to be a play-by-play account. If you're versed in Aramaic, you should've contacted Mel's agent.