Review of Son of God (2014) by Jeff B — 03 Mar 2014

Drawing masses to the cinemas for a Greatest Hits package of Bible stories featuring the Son of God, this patchwork re-edit of a History Channel mini-series offering filmgoers a faith-affirming saga from the cradle to the grave of Jesus Christ sadly turns potential wine into water. If you've seen illustrated picture books of the New Testament for children, you've already seen and realized the breadth of this literal interpretation of a family friendly Bible story. Honestly, Monty Python's Life of Brian provides Christians with more Sunday School discussion points. Aside from a few tears and some blood stains, there's very little exploration of the human side of God's flesh form. What Mel Gibson did with the gritty but reverential The Passion of the Christ was awe-inspiring. What the abridged Jesus of Nazareth clone The Son of God does is simply duh-inspiring. Imagine the creator of earth revealing himself in human form to experience his creation's tragic failings. It would and should result in something more than a big-budget Little Golden Book.

In this PG-13-rated drama, the life story of Jesus (Morgado) gets re-told from his humble birth through his teachings, crucifixion and ultimate resurrection.

Looking like Barry Gibb after a teeth whitening, Diogo Morgado tries to inspire humbleness but often comes off looking smug. Of course, there's very little bread and fishes dredged up from the script, which presents a straight-ahead re-reading of Anglicized scripture rather than a truthful dramatization of some earth-shattering events.

Bottom line: Least Temptation of Christ.