Resurrection Re-Telling
‘RISEN’ TRAILER REVIEW BY METRO CREW
Risen tells the story of the Resurrection, as seen by a Roman soldier, Clavius (Joseph Fiennes), who has to find out what really happened to Jesus’ body after the crucifixion. While we agree that the re-telling sounds intriguing in concept, we’re unsure about how it will play out.
Risen opens in wide release Feb. 19.
JAMES: This is sort of an interesting take on the subject matter. I like the political, earthbound aspect of it — forensic detective work set right after “the Nazarene’s” death, investigating claims of his resurrection by hunting for his body. But unless this is a revisionist take on the subject, it can only end in one of two ways: with a sort of deus ex machina shrouded in supernatural ambiguity and mystery, or Christ revealing himself as played by Chris Hemsworth.
PAIGE: I agree that this movie seems to only have two endings, but it definitely is leaning toward the “ambiguous but with a hint of religious awe and mystery” one. I mean, what will happen? He obviously won’t find the body and say, “Ho hum, there goes Christianity, disproven by ancient Roman CSI.” Or maybe they’ll bring in Jesus’ twin brother but leave it unclear whether it really IS Jesus.
NICOLE: Because I went to a Christian school for my entire elementary/high school life, I’m pretty well versed in theology. Therefore, this movie intrigues me. I do like how it’s told from the Roman soldier’s point of view. It’s an aspect that I haven’t thought of before — how they felt, what they believed, what it would be like to be them.
JAMES: At first this looked like the scenes parodied in the Coen Brothers’ Hail, Caesar!, where Clooney plays a Roman officer encountering Christ, and a director yells at him to “Squint! Squint at all the glory!”
CHRISTINA: Are we just being insensitive? Because I also thought this looked like a parody. Like, you have everyone chasing Jesus in a giant game of hide-and-seek. There’s a scene where they try to make it super dramatic and then Joseph Fiennes just pops up and is like, “Nope, no Jesus here.”
PAIGE: Was I the only one expecting Jesus to drop down into the picture a la Batman exiting the Batmobile, with a big stick in his hand, ready to whoop some ass?
JAIMIE: This movie toes the line of being a little too much of everything — a little too much adventure, a little too much action going on. The real story, or the one you believe if you believe in Jesus, is pretty simple: He died on the cross and rose three days later. There was no hide-and-seek of his bones, etc. And so I think if you want to make a compelling story about his death, it was always much more shocking to me to see the regular boring reenactments of it all versus this, which makes me kind of want to laugh. And I don’t think Jesus would like that reaction very much, considering.
JAMES: I’m not sure I like the title. Risen? It’s trying to position itself as a cheap action thriller. What do you think the other options were? Vendetta of Resurrection? Search and Seizure: Salvation? Sin City A.D. 30?
