Review of The Last Temptation of Christ (1988) by Kevin C — 22 Apr 2010

A marvelous, breathtaking movie, and arguably Scorsese's best. It's obviously not to be taken as fully fact, or even purely scriptural; indeed, there's even a disclaimer at the beginning of the film saying so. But it's the only movie I've ever seen about Jesus' life to fully capture the fact that He was both God and man. According to the Gospels, Jesus WAS tempted; no need to excise this from any portrayal of Him. After all, experiencing temptation isn't a sin; Jesus is still perfect.

And at the end, to see Christ triumph at the end after all, choosing His fate, fulfilling God's Holy purpose for the salvation of mankind... It's truly beautiful, and I applaud Martin Scorsese for creating such a masterpiece. "It is accomplished.".

Again, however, I implore you: this film is not based on the Gospels, nor should it ever be considered a replacement to the Gospels of any kind. But, as Steven D. Greydanus said (ironically in his essay criticizing the film), "...we must not be too quick to judge any particular portrait of Christ merely because it challenges our expectations or makes us uncomfortable...".