Review of Risen (2016) by Matthew C — 15 Apr 2016

Right from the very first trailer I knew this movie had potential. It was a gripping premise and charted unexplored territory. I've only seen glimpses, in other films and series, of the chaos that must have broken among the ranks of the Roman guard and the Sanhedrin after Christ rose.

They had to have panicked, despite foreseeing a story like this. They must have kicked themselves for not doing more and feared that what was set in motion would never end. Risen, in its near first half, explores these untouched plot points and emotions.

Specifically the Romans are followed. The Jewish leaders come off as cold and evil more so than afraid and confused. I think they could, in their brief scenes, been given more depth. But Pilate was well done and our main cast on the pagan side perform well as they travel from indifference to curiosity to fear to wonder.

Yet the climax of the film comes far too early and after that, it becomes what most other Christian oriented stories are - " if you believe in Jesus you'll forgive us filmmakers for anything.

" As a Catholic I must first be interested, awed, and entertained at the movie house, then you can deliver the glance, the line, the scene that pulls at my very being. While the film still scores points for playing with never before seen days of the Bible, the energy and mystery and intrigue of the first half disappears halfway.

There are one or two good scenes but nothing like the world and its thrills that we are immersed in between minute 1 and minute 40, or somewhere around there. However, it is a film worth seeing, so rent it just for that first half at least.

It may give you a new perspective on a story we take for granted.