The romans are on a search for he who has “Risen” on the third day, creating The Greatest Story Ever told for all of his followers. In “Risen”, Director Kevin Reynolds details the first forty days after the Resurrection of Jesus Christ. Told through the eyes of an agnostic Roman Centurion (Joseph Fiennes), the story details Jesus’s (Cliff Curtis) charging by Pontius Pilate (Peter Firth), and the investigation into the rumors of a risen Jewish Messiah to locate the missing deceased body of Jesus of Nazareth in order to subdue an imminent uprising in Jerusalem. During Centurion’s mission, his doubts of such a supernatural occurrence peel away as he encounters the Apostles and other historic biblical characters and bears witness to the legendary storied events that followed the Resurrection. A great mystery unfolds during Centurion’s quest to find the body and he is deeply affected by his first-person investigation, as his previous beliefs on the matter are forever altered based on what he has now witnessed. The movie is rated PG-13 for violence and disturbing graphic imagery.
I am man enough as a critic to admit when I’m wrong. I was dreading seeing this movie for months, and it turns out it’s one of the biggest surprises of the early 2016. The film offers a different perspective for the ones we are used to for this genre, told from the perspective of the film’s antagonist to Jesus for once. Joseph Fiennes character serves as a near detective of sorts, interviewing all of the followers for Jesus, so that he can locate whether or not this man was taken by someone or actually rose from the dead like the village is saying. Also, it’s nice to see what happens AFTER the rising from the tomb, as many films will end their story at that point. “Risen” goes even further, offering something for even the biggest naysayers for genre.
What sets the production on a different path in this movie from cheap propaganda films like “Heaven Is For Real” or “God’s Not Dead” is that it never feels like it’s trying to push its values off on the audience. This is a story about the rise and fall of Christ, and it’s presented in way that is understandable and less cryptic for everyone young and old to understand. There’s some real valuable production designs in the film that give it a rich design and artistic value that went into it. There are some poor greenscreen backgrounds, but a majority of the film is presented in clear definition with actual well-layered sets and props. The musical score and wardrobe design also offer a big screen feel reminiscent of classic holy films like “The Ten Commandments” and “Passion of the Christ”. While the film violently touches on the latter of those two movies, this one is nowhere near as brutal or polarizing as its predecessor. It’s just nice to see religious film that doesn’t need to overdo it on calling non-believers wrong.
The pacing of the film kept me entertained where I normally would doze off to dreamland. The film comes in at 102 minutes, and it never feels that dragging effect that has paralyzed the creative direction that so many other films are trying to take. All three acts of the movie feel like they offer something different to keep the attention. The first act feels like an investigative drama, complete with character briefings. The second act feels like a war story, complete with a battle scene that is every bit as crippling on this small village as it is physically tolling for Fiennes character. We see that lag during several expositional scenes which reveal Fiennes not having nothing more to live on but a dream of a small retirement someday. The third act becomes a traveling movie of sorts. This is where the film surprises with some decent comic dialogue and reactionary humor that was well appreciated for the film’s climax. The ending is a little bland and uneventful, and I wish the film had ended ten minute prior, as that would’ve been the ending that everyone was expecting.
The character versatility is a little weak, and often times settles on the movie focusing on a select few characters, but those ones make the most of their roles. Fiennes offers a brilliant contrast in transformation from the film’s first act to his final words when so much of his beliefs change before the viewers eyes. There’s a sort of business comes first mentality to his thought process, and it’s nice that his ideal beliefs aren’t changed overnight despite the miracle presented in front of him. His actions and beliefs change slowly, and the film is brilliant to give time to such an altering. Cliff Curtis is also warming as the legendary prophet. His Jesus feels like the one we were all brought up on, but without overdoing it on sentimental sap. He knows there is real evil in the world, but his message of peace and love with acceptance is something reminiscent of what the world in 2016 currently needs. Besides this, I wish I could say that there is a lot more noteworthy praise in performances, but the film doesn’t offer enough time to the people around Jesus, so their roles all kind of blend together. This isn’t necessarily a problem, but it would be nice to lift the load off of the two characters I already mentioned.
“Risen” is a welcoming surprise to years of torture mentally for such challenging movies. I enjoyed it even more than “Passion of the Christ” and it didn’t even need half of the violence or production costs. It proves that such a story can be enjoyable without the manipulative tricks that weaker films of the genre entail. The creative Roman approach gives the story a fresh retelling that is sure to preach appropriatly to any choir. If the trailer interested you, check it out.
6/10
Hey Chris,
So in the movie, did they bend the time line so the “authors” of the gospels were present?
House did the handle the Romans as 2-D villains other than the Centurion?
As a non-Christian who loves some old school bible movies like the Ten Commandments as you mention in the review just curious how they handle those aspects.
On a 6/10 I am not sure about going.
No authors of the gospel were in the film, unless you assume that Jesus’s followers were the ones who authored it. Either way, nothing is mentioned about the bible. The romans were a little one-dimensional, but what I think puts this film above modern day movies for the genre is that it’s told from their point of view. So basically they can’t be monsters because we have to understand it from their narration of actions. We don’t have to reason with them, but the film has to make their side of things understandable at the very least if we are going to follow them for nearly two hours. As for the rating, 6/10 is the bare minimum of passing for me. For a modern religious film, that’s like a 9/10 for any other movie simply because these films are usually the worst time at the movies for me. I would say wait for DVD. Nothing that makes is a MUST SEE at the theaters.