Christian movies have been on the rise in the last few years, but with the likes of the Kendrick and the Erwin brothers, come people like Darren Aronofsky and Ridley Scott. These secular filmmakers have tried to take the stories of the Bible, and present them in completely fictional ways that only shame the original source material. When Risen was announced, it wasn't presented like some of the other Biblical-fiction movies. So, does Risen shed a new light on Christian media, or does it only cast a shadow?
Risen is the story of Clavius the Tribune. He is second hand to Pilate, and when a Jewish man named Yeshua is put to death, it is Clavius' job to make sure he stays locked away in his tomb. But when his body mysteriously disappears, Clavius starts to think that maybe there is some truth about the stories of Yeshua.
This was a refreshing Biblical telling of the story of "The manhunt that changed the course of human history." While the main character Clavius is a fictional character, we can a assume that there was someone at this time doing the same things; looking for the dead body of Jesus. Speaking of Jesus, he is called by the Jewish name Yeshua which is unique. And the character of Yeshua is portrayed a little differently. For one, he doesn't look a like a super model like most others do. Also, he is kind of comical, and a bit more happy-go-lucky than you might see in some other films. All these things I quite liked. The disciples where a little different as well. Peter was portrayed as a bit high strung, while Bartholomew was way more joyful.
Some of the negatives would be that sometimes the pacing can be slow, and the action bits didn't quite do much it for me. Also the fact that this is a fiction story might throw some people off, but I look at it as something like historic-fiction. And lastly, if you are looking for a film that distributes the gospel of Jesus in a big way, you may not look to this. It is very subtle in that way. I personally found it to be a good way to present the Bible to someone, but it is not like War Room or Do You Believe.
Overall this is a great movie. Perhaps this could be the gateway into having more Christian movies taken from a fiction standpoint not be completely the opposite of the Word, but be an addition to the original text.
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Story- 9/10
Interesting and unique storytelling throughout that shines a new light on the event that we all know so well.
Main Characters- 9/10
Clavius, while a bit stone cold, opens up as the movie goes on and becomes a likable character.
Side Characters- 8/10
I liked most of the side characters, especially the way the disciples and Jesus were portrayed.
Villain- 8/10
I guess Pilate would be the villain in this case. He did show up sometimes, and while he was kind of threatening, he really didn't do much. I guess you could count Clavius as a villain too.
Effects/Animation- 8/10
Nothing too amazing, but what was there was good. The settings, backgrounds, and costuming were also very nicely done.
Songs/Score- 7/10
To be honest, I really didn't notice much of the score. I guess that means that if blended so well with what was going on I didn't hear it?
Entertainment Factor- 9/10
I was entertained mostly throughout the entire thing. There were just a couple of slow spots though.
Total Score- 83%
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