Published by: Anthony Wallace
When the Messiah is put on the cross and left to die, Clavius is ordered to put the body in hiding. After three days the body of Jesus is said to have disappeared thus leaving Clavius to search the truth. In a story about resurrection it’s the telling of a non-believer who searches deep within to question his loyalty and faith. The movie is directed by Kevin Reynolds and stars Joseph Fiennes, Tom Felton, and Peter Firth.
Another telling of the bible as LD Entertainment delivers a faith-based story as we slowly approach the Spring season. This time Joseph Fiennes plays the lead role of Clavius who is ordered to go throughout Jerusalem and bring forth the thieves in the night. His performance here is one of the bright spots because although the movie centers around him the movie could have easily failed had it not been for his contribution. Majority of the film is about Clavius searching for the prophets body. When Jerusalem is raided and Mary Magdalene (Maria Botto) is found by Clavius it leads to a pivotal moment where belief comes into question.
The narrative for ‘Risen‘ doesn’t lead up to anything but rather explores the key events that leads to the rise of Christianity and the disciples who are sent out to spread the word of god. Some may find the film questionable while others may gloss over the facts, either way the target audience for ‘Risen‘ will find something to like. One of the things that took me by surprise was the amount of parents who brought their kids to the theater to watch the movie. There is a good amount of violence that at least in the theater I went to no one was complaining or had to take their kids out. One scene in particular was intense as we see one of Clavius’ guards piercing a rod through one of the three men on the cross. To hold a PG-13 rating the movie surely was riding that line where at moments you thought it should’ve received the R.
In the end you will go into ‘Risen‘ being educated about the resurrection of Jesus while also being entertained by very few action sequences. Although the movie isn’t memorable as there are more superior iterations such as Mel Gibson’s ‘The Passion of the Christ‘, audiences can take something away in some way or form. It’s a slight recommend with the performance of Joseph Fiennes that saves ‘Risen‘ from falling from grace.
Rating: 6/10
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The Cinema Score 