Ranking #2 on my personal list of Worst Movies I Paid To See (sandwiched between Moment By Moment and Plan Nine From Outer Space) is this colossal bore of a movie. No, I'm not a Christian - though I can't fathom why one has to be a fanatic Bible-thumper to hate this flick.
For one thing, let's set aside the fact that Jesus Christ is portrayed as a whiny, meandering wimp while Judas Iscariot is portrayed as the only real man of the lot. That's the premise of the book, after all, and it's a valid artistic choice whether or not you can stomach it. (It's not that far off Jesus Christ Superstar, after all.)
In any event, that isn't the key problem in casting Willem Dafoe as Jesus. The real plot hole is this: does his portrayal give you the impulse to follow this Nazarene bloke to the nearest bus stop, let alone suggest a charisma in him so strong as to engender a mass movement and a religion? Certainly not; Dafoe can be called many things as an actor, but his best friends are unlikely to include compelling charisma amongst his virtues.
I'd say more, but that would confer this turkey too much importance in my life, and I'm only writing and voting on it out of a sense of cinematic duty.
1/10.
For one thing, let's set aside the fact that Jesus Christ is portrayed as a whiny, meandering wimp while Judas Iscariot is portrayed as the only real man of the lot. That's the premise of the book, after all, and it's a valid artistic choice whether or not you can stomach it. (It's not that far off Jesus Christ Superstar, after all.)
In any event, that isn't the key problem in casting Willem Dafoe as Jesus. The real plot hole is this: does his portrayal give you the impulse to follow this Nazarene bloke to the nearest bus stop, let alone suggest a charisma in him so strong as to engender a mass movement and a religion? Certainly not; Dafoe can be called many things as an actor, but his best friends are unlikely to include compelling charisma amongst his virtues.
I'd say more, but that would confer this turkey too much importance in my life, and I'm only writing and voting on it out of a sense of cinematic duty.
1/10.