‘Son of God,’ the film version of History Channel miniseries hits theaters this weekend.
“Son of God” was directed by Christopher Spencer, and written by Richard Bedser, Christopher Spencer, Colin Swash, and Nic Young. It stars Diogo Morgado, Amber Rose Revah, Sebastian Knapp, Greg Hicks, Darwin Shaw, Joe Wredden, and Roma Downey.
Modern films about the life of Jesus have to overcome the fact that everyone already knows the story. However, it is often difficult for these films to appeal to those unfamiliar. I doubt many unbelievers will be in line for Son of God, the new film based on the History Channel miniseries The Bible. It tells the entire story of the adult life of Jesus as told in the Gospels. It is quite faithful to the original source material. The first half of the film plays like a greatest hits album for the New Testament (Lazarus rises, fishes and the loaves, etc.) And these scenarios play out exactly as you would expect.
The score is unrelenting. Every time Jesus performs a miracle (5 or so times) we hear music filled with awe. It is so melodramatic that it spoils the drama in potentially intense scenes. When Jesus is on the cross, it should feel powerful, it has felt powerful in the past, but that overwhelming, overwhelmingly generic score sucks all potential emotion out of the moment. There are also some rather bizarre musical choices (when Peter meets Jesus for the first time, from the score you’d think that they’re plotting to murder the president). The whole film feels cheap and generic. There is some really bad-looking CGI whenever we get an establishing shot of a city. None of the performances are all that great, either. Diogo Morgado makes for an incredibly generic Jesus (and for whatever reason, he can’t seem to stop squinting). And Roma Downey’s one facial expression grows tiresome.
But even if it were more technically accomplished, this would still only be a competent film. It would still be lacking a spark. Why was this film made? The History Channel’s The Bible already exists. To me, it feels like little more than an easy cash grab. Cheap, slapdash, and boring, Son of God is quite lacking.
-Anthony Calamunci
