RISEN (2016)

I saw the poster for this one back in December and watched the first trailer during the Super Bowl.
I was really interested in seeing how this movie would handle the Resurrection story through the eyes of a skeptical Roman witness, since I covered very similar ground in my second novel, THE REDEMPTION OF PONTIUS PILATE. So tonight I ponied up $8 for a ticket and got to see it for myself.

Anyone making a Bible-based movie runs into a conundrum: The Scriptures alone don't often provide enough source material to make an effective movie, so you nearly always have to add in some elements. But, when you go tampering with the Biblical narrative, you run the risk of offending the primary constituency your movie is aiming at - people who actually read the Bible and take it seriously.

In recent years, there have been some very successful movies that have adapted the Bible story to the screen in a way that manages to add some material and characters to the story, and still appeal to the faithful - PRINCE OF EGYPT, THE PASSION OF THE CHRIST, THE NATIVITY STORY, and ONE NIGHT WITH THE KING all did well.

Then there were a couple of real clunkers that tried to put a completely new spin on the Bible's narrative and wound up with a movie that offended more believers than it fascinated - NOAH was bloody awful, and EXODUS: GODS AND KINGS, although better than NOAH, still messed around with the Bible story in ways that made no sense.

Now along comes RISEN. These guys seem to hit the mix just right: the movie presents an original story with a main character who is completely fictional, and yet, it remains true to the New Testament narrative and presents an inspiring picture of Christ. Joseph Fiennes is an absolute standout in the role of Clavius, a Roman tribune ordered to find the missing body of the Nazarene preacher, and Peter Firth is a very convincing Pontius Pilate (albeit his interpretation of this enigmatic character is markedly different from mine). There is also a nice supporting appearance by Tom Felton (Lucius Malfoy from Harry Potter) as Lucius, an ambitious young conterburnalis assigned to Clavius as his adjutant. I have to mention Cliff Curtis as well - his portrayal of Yeshua (Jesus) is brilliant, and for once, they actually got a guy to play Jesus who looks VERY Jewish!

I was really impressed with this movie and will be adding a copy to my collection as soon as the DVD is released. Not only that, its release seems to be helping sales of my book on Amazon!

However, even if it wasn't, I think I would still rate this Biblical epic a solid 5/5!