RISEN
I normally don’t write movie reviews when it is not the purpose of me attending or watching the movie. I’ve written several movie reviews over the years, but for practically all of them, I entered the theater or pressed “PLAY” with the intention to watch, observe, think critically and review. It’s kind of fun. Who would complain about seeing a free movie? I mean, come on! But, the thing is, it’s work. There’s an attention to detail that is a little heightened — at least in attitude — that approaches the toil scale. This is in the opposite direction of rest, relaxation and chill. Tonight I hopped in the car with close friends (aka “church family”) to go see Risen at the nearest Cinemark theater. I had no intention of reviewing this movie. I had every intention of relaxing and enjoying myself. The good news is that I was successful at both.
After enjoying a couple of the miniature Snickers bars that I snuck into the theater, the trailers were over and the story began to unfold. It’s always a question when seeing a movie about a story that you’re familiar with. Your expectations can carry too much weight. Sometimes, you just have to disconnect, get in “passive” mode and watch. This story started out with a short-haired Gary Cherone* (the frontman for Extreme, aka Van Halen’s singer for one album, III), who played a Roman officer known as a Tribune (actually played quite well by Joseph Fiennes). He was summoned by Pilate and ordered to finish off the Nazarene that he had sentenced to death by crucifixion. The command was an act of mercy (breaking the recipient’s legs so that he could no longer raise his torso upwards and take in a breath, effectively ushering in his death). He came upon the sight (Golgotha) and there was a crowd of unrest, partly protesting and partly wailing over the execution of this “rebellious religious leader” named Yeshua.
It was accurately and realistically brutal. The thieves on either side of Yeshua were groaning and moaning. The guy in the middle was deathly silent. When they finally did a close-up of the dead Messiah, I was relieved to see (for the first time ever, it seems!) — an ugly Jesus!
Now, ugly is an ugly term, but let me be superficial to make a point. So many Jesus movies cast a beautiful, blue-eyed man in the role of this Jewish Messiah. I know He is God, He is worthy of worship and His beauty is immense. I adore Him, but the Bible says He was not much to look at (Isaiah 53:2). He was probably an average Joe, a face that was easy to get lost in the crowd. Plus, I feel ugly some of the time and it sure is comforting to know that we — the ugly majority — are represented. And by ugly, I mean a big schnoz (nose), dark skin and large, lumpy features. Sure, he’s beautiful in his own right and he is some mother’s son, but Yeshua was played by Gene Simmons. (Not really. For the purpose of this review, *when I see someone that reminds me of another, I’m just going to label them as I see’s them. Capisce?) That’s right, Gene Simmons was Jesus. It’s kind of fitting for the famous Jewish rocker to play the role of Judaism’s messiah. (Again, the real actor’s name is Cliff Curtis). It’s also cool that this Messiah could, if push came to shove, kick the living tar out of you. Yeah, a tough guy that could throw down if called for.
I found the movie to have a compelling story — the inner struggle and questioning of this tribune that was charged with finding the stolen corpse of Yeshua — but it moved at an agonizingly slow pace. So slow, in fact, I actually fell asleep in the dark theater during the eyewitness questioning phase of the tribune’s quest. I really nodded off. I tried to fight it, but the lack of action, my energy level and the lighting in the film created a perfect storm that closed my eyelids. There’s my sole criticism of the movie. Fortunately, it eventually picks up and starts moving faster.
It was fun to see some of the characters in this movie. There was a long-haired Gary Cherone* that played Bartholomew (Stephen Hagan), who seemed a perpetual stoner/hippie with a goofy grin when questioned about the condition of resurrected Yeshua. It was almost irreverent to portray him as slightly goofy, but it added to my entertainment value. It was also cool to see a closer study of the character Mary Magdalene (Maria Botto), who many scholars say was a prostitute prior to following Jesus. This was played out by the tribune busting into a brothel and asking a bunch of meathead men if they knew Mary Magdalene. Like a lusty local crowd might respond, several men raised their hand. There was also some cool dialog between the tribune and his understudy, played by Colt McCoy.* At one point the tribunal is confronted by his assistant, who plays the role of authority after the tribunal has wandered from his post, so to speak, in his The Robe-like journey to find the truth. Pontius Pilate’s threat to “find him and kill him again” was also somewhat menacing.
A couple takeaways I really enjoyed from the movie was the fresh attitude surrounding the disciples’ decision to go fishing as they awaited their Messiah’s next post-resurrection visit. I’ve long held the belief that their decision to fish was likened to a return to their previous vocation (aka sin) as their hope was fading. I like being challenged with another viewpoint, which showed the fishermen by trade opting to go fishing the way a group of guys might decide to start a pick-up game of football — just for fun. The other great takeaway for me was somewhat related. That was the raw joy the disciples expressed when seeing the resurrected Jesus. They loved this guy. They saw Him die. Seeing Him face-to-face again would probably be a time of real ecstatic joy. These actors played the role well.
Risen did a good job of portraying a religious story as a straight-up and dramatic narrative. It’s a good story — whether it’s true or not. Being that the resurrection of Christ is really central to the Christian faith, it’s compelling to view the story from the skeptical eyes of a Roman military man that was sent to squelch the claims of this new Jewish sect. Find a body and it’s over. Only trouble was the body found him — not the other way around. If it’s true, it changes everything. I enjoy taking the story of Christ and making it a relevant conversation. Risen succeeds on many levels at doing just that. [Sony/Affirm Films] Doug Van Pelt
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