Review of The Last Temptation of Christ (1988) by Sgt. C — 18 Jan 2015

(60%).

A picture that up to a point is hard to know why it's deemed overtly controversial by so many different people, as most of what happens is widely accepted as key events that actually happened to Christ according to followers of Christianity. So there's the turning of water into wine, healing the blind, the last supper etc. But then towards the later stages there are some scenes that are more risky that do break away from the accepted story. Willem Dafoe is one of the better screen actors to play Jesus, with Harvey Keitel as the very serious Judas adding intensity. Despite this being a touch too long, it's still very well made/acted, and despite it being very odd at times, the writing and structure is surprisingly simple and easy to follow. This is worth a look for all cinema fans, but it's not something many would want to watch again and again unlike Scorsese's better films.