Killing Jesus (2015)

Expected more

Dreadfully Boring

The plot isn't so bad, but the pace of storytelling is too slow which makes people bored. Certain moments are so obvious and unnecessary for the main plot. I would've fast-forwarded those moments if it was an online streaming. The ending looks like implying a sequel, not sure if this movie will get one

A terrific literary drama and character piece that shows how the process of creating art can be seen differently by those doing it and those looking at it from the outside.

-Killing Jesus (2015) movie review: -Killing Jesus is a TV movie by National Geographic, giving a look at the ministry and death of Jesus of Nazareth from both his perspective and the perspectives of those who ordered his death. This attempt as a religious telling takes a non-biased look at the story of Christ, essentially adding biased against the truth told in the actual story. I'll get in to that later.-Technically, it was not that bad. I will review part of it from that standpoint. However I am also going to review the content and what it represents, which was less than satisfying for a film that only needed to do the same as the other hundred films like this one.-The story was told from both the perspectives of Jesus' captors as well as Jesus, so it feels inconsistent. They also skipped a few points that help develop other points in Christ's ministry.-The film had a slow start and an odd pace that rushed through a bit of time without letting the audience know. Rushed ending too.-The acting is functional. Haaz Sleiman plays a good Jesus, but not a great one. It also has some people like Kelsey Grammar, Rufus Sewell, and John Rhys-Davies in it, who do a good job.-The characters are not all that good or accurate. Jesus whines and at one point talks about how He wants to lead a rebellion with swords. Because that obviously happened. To make this part short, when it comes to characters there is almost no regard for the actual Bible.-I liked the music. It was very Bear McCreary-esque.-The production value was acceptable, and I loved that they had a Jewish looking Jesus. Other than that, this film is both factually and Biblically inaccurate through most of its passive attempt to tell the story of Christ. Ending it ambiguously while not having things like the Holy Spirit in it once just truly take everything out of the meaning.-Technically, it is not terrible. It has a decent design, acting that is not too bad, and a good score. Biblically and historically, it gets little right and takes the extra step to ensure this comes from a non-biased worldview, which in turn takes God out of it. Killing Jesus is not worth the time.-Killing Jesus holds a PG-13 rating for violence and some partial nudity.

A lot of research and money obviously went into the production of this very good movie. Lots of extras in the cast,for realistic crowd scenes making the film most realistic and true to historic details, as well as the scriptures. One can gain a deep insight into what Jesus of Nazereth actually went thru during his lifetime. A good movie to watch even if you are not a Christian, just for the other accurate historical events that were going on at the time, concerning not only Jesus, but the conflicts going on between the Jewish people and their Roman occupiers. Well worth watching, or even owning (whenever it is available on DVD), so you can watch it again and again especially if you 'are' a Christian. We plan to watch it at every special season during the Christian year that celebrates the life and times of Jesus.

I am so happy to get this type of program but I don't understand why all the inaccuracies. It's not as if the story of Jesus isn't compelling enough without having to tweak it to keep the audience watching. Some of the inaccuracies seemed just random and serviced no purpose and others seemed very intentional and purposely misleading. I'm not sure which is worse. Who did the producers make this for anyway? It was not provocative enough for non-believers and not accurate enough for believers. A note to the producers: Next time, if you intend to tell a Christian story, get the facts right. At best the inaccuracies are a distraction and at worst they are insulting to those who know what is historically accurate. I feel confident that you won't lose believers or non-believers if Christian stories are well done and true.

Well, I must admit I got sucked in because Kelsey Grammar was hyped in the ads as part of the cast. The made-for-TV film started out interesting, in a way, with Kelsey stumbling manically with throbbing boiled forehead o'er the ramparts of Jerusalem. OK. He is sufficiently disturbed, and does an OK job. What else do you want from Herod? Next, we get a believable-looking Jesus. Yeah, somebody who could be from that region of the world, not some white-washed European version on a holy card. Oh, some may say, but that ain't the Jesus I pray to. No? I think Jesus was Afro-Asian or Hamito-Semitic, not a bearded Caucasian. There is a difference. Anyway... Good casting, but his wig was frightful. Didn't look like real hair at all. Was that on purpose? The story actually started out pretty good. It seemed like this wasn't going to be just a simple parroting of the story many, many people know by heart. There was character development in the beginning and interesting interaction between the characters, but then as the story progressed, it was as if the plot got away with everyone and things were hurried up and sped up to get to the conclusion. One weirdness is that when Jesus changes Simon's name to Peter, one of the (what I thought was one of the lesser educated) apostles says in an aside to another apostle (and so the audience gets the reference) that Peter is the Greek word for "rock". Well, aside from the fact that there is some debate on the real Jesus' knowledge of Greek vs. poetic license of the authors of the gospels, it was interesting what the script writer and director "left in" and what they "left out" of this Biblical depiction of Jesus' life. I also found the last scene in which Peter gets a boat- load of fish like once before and deduces that "He is risen" or does he say "He's back!"? laughable.