Review of The Passion of the Christ (2004) by Jon T — 20 May 2012
In spite of being a colossal commercial success in its 2004 release, Mel Gibson's THE PASSION OF THE CHRIST has received its share of harsh detractors. The film is at its best in the opening half in which Jesus is tempted by Satan, and then captured and put on trial by Pontious Pilate.
From there, however, it becomes a grisly gorefest, with continuous scenes of Christ being flogged, stabbed, etc., with copious amounts of blood. This makes the overall film a very difficult one to sit through.
Masochistic, too, because such moments sometimes feel more like gratuitous shock value... to the point where I couldn't really feel any real impact. The only parts that I found truly disturbing and frightening were the occasional glimpses from a creepy-looking Satan (who appears in the crowd as a hooded, creepy-looking transvestite) and her similarly gruesome "children".
I personally wish that Gibson toned down the violence and focused more on the occasional flashbacks we see of Jesus and his life with his followers (my favorite parts of the movie, plus the honestly reluctant portrayal of Jesus's would-be prosecutor, Pilate).
In spite of my misgivings, though, I did like most of THE PASSION OF THE CHRIST. Painful as it is to watch, it is nonetheless executed with brutal honesty and genuineness, highlighted by some very nice cinematography.
(It should also be noted that the entire film is subtitled, too; Gibson decided to have the actors speak the language of the country this film is set in. This provides for an interesting international tilt.
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This review of The Passion of the Christ (2004) was written by Jon T on 20 May 2012.
The Passion of the Christ has generally received positive reviews.
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