Review of The Nativity Story (2006) by Sarai S — 08 Apr 2009

Oh boy, most of the other Facebook user reviews are very positive so I feel kind of sacrilegious going against the grain here, but I feel this was just so-so. Attention all ye Deep Space Nine fans: Alexander Siddig (aka Dr.

Julian Bashir) plays the Angel Gabriel. I have to give credit to director Catherine Hardwicke for stepping outside the box. This film was a big departure from her first two films: Thirteen and Lords of Dogtown, both of which were terrific.

And hey, you can't strike gold every time. I really wish she'd done more with the three wisemen subplot. They were great, and that one scene where they were drunk on wine in the desert was hilarious ("No you're not, I'M the wisest one! Ha ha!").

Keisha Castle-Hughes did the best she could with what was written for her as the Ultimate Independent Woman. Indeed, the writing was this film's biggest weakness. And damn, that Ciaran Hinds was almost unrecognizable as Herod.

Talk about departure!