Review of The Passion of the Christ (2004) by Brendan N — 19 Jul 2012

Kind of boring. Certainly accurate linguistically and visually (showing the violence of the crucifixion), but not very entertaining.

I was admittedly quite impressed with how well everyone could act in Aramaic and Latin. The ancient/exotic languages definitely added to the historical atmosphere of the film. Jim Caveziel hardly had any lines beyond screams, grunts and whispers, but somehow he was able to tell us everything with his face. Brilliant acting.

I would not recommend this for children, even if it is "educational" to them. If you insist on showing this to them in order to "strengthen their faith", wait until they are in their teens. It is extremely gory, almost unnecessarily so.

On a more philosophical note, how can you blame people in the future for this event (with the eerie stare from Mary at the end) when, at the moment of the crucifixion, they will not even be born, let alone sin, for another 2000 years? Isn't it really God's fault for deciding Jesus should die in the most painful way possible? Isn't he all-powerful, so he is able to get rid of all the sin in the world whether Jesus dies or not? He could have made Jesus die in a less painful way as well.

I only watched this in order to further enjoy the "Passion of the Jew" South Park episode.