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Created Jul 01, 2008 02:22AM PST • Edited Jul 01, 2008 02:22AM PST

1. Quality

2. Summary

   Pretty Bad 1.5

   I’m torn on this as I really disliked this move. A lot. And its not because it was a poorly made movie – quite the opposite actually. This movie was very well made in every aspect. I can’t commend the film enough in the technical aspect. The storytelling was good, the acting was great and it was a beautiful film. This was a terrible movie to watch and of all the stories of Christ, I see no reason to commit this particular one to film. It felt like this movie was trying to make you feel bad about what Christ went through. To make you feel guilty. There didn’t really seem to be any other purpose to this movie. Yes, Christ willingly went through this for mankind but why make this kind of movie about it? This went so far as really almost be a snuff film it was so graphic in what it was showing. The whole point was to watch Christ suffer and die and it made me feel terrible. If you are okay with that – maybe you already feel that way due to religious beliefs when it comes to the Passion – then check it out. Very well made film.

4. Acting

   Very Good 3.5

   The acting in this film was superb. I greatly enjoyed performances all around. I thought James Caviezal was incredibly good. I think he made Christ very human. I also greatly enjoyed Maia Morgenstern as Mary. She was a great mother figure. Its just too bad that these performances had to come in this movie.

5. Male Stars Great 4.0

   James Caviezal was entertaining to watch. When he is forced to carry the cross to the place of his crucifiction, it was very convincingly done. Too much really as you hate to see someone in so much pain. Its just not comfortable to watch, but I know that was the point and Caviezal did well with it.

6. Female Stars Really Great 4.5

   Maia Morgenstern was great. I think Mary has become such an perfect icon – much like Christ – that it was good to see someone play her as human. This could be your own mom which, again, I feel was the point and it was well delivered.

7. Female Costars Great 4.0

   Monica Belluci was lost for me. I wasn’t really able to enjoy her as much because I was too busy watching Jesus get torn apart by medieval torture weapons. She was surprisingly unglamorous, though, and I did appreciate that. Its hard to make Belluci not beautiful, but they did so well, I think.

8. Male Costars Good 3.0

   None worth remembering. I couldn’t give other actors much consideration as my attention was mostly else where.

10. Film

    Really Great 4.5

    Gorgeous film beginning to end. Beautiful locations, great costume design, good direction and great music.

11. Direction Perfect 5.0

    Mel Gibson is fantastic director. He set the bar high with Braveheart, but really he kept it right up there. He can get good performances and he knows how to capture a shot. I wish the shot wasn’t flesh being torn from the side of Christ, but that’s my thing.

12. Play Perfect 5.0

    I don’t know if that is how Aramaic is supposed to sound. As far as I understand nobody does really as it is a very dead language. But I do know it sounded beautiful. For a language that nobody speaks and hasn’t for a good long while, it was very convincingly done.

13. Music Perfect 5.0

    Memorable. I actually remember how impressed I was with the mood that the music set within the movie.

14. Visuals Great 4.0

    Visually this movie was incredible, but it went too far. The torture scenes were too graphic, too realistic and unnecessarily so. The same story could have been told without the severity of the violence. So as pretty as this movie was, I can’t give it a perfect.

15. Content

16. Edge

    Risqué 2.3

    No rudeness or sex. Just violence. Lots of violence. Graphic violence done for reasons that I really can’t agree with. Its very hard to watch the torture scenes. Its too graphic and not stylized in any way so its meant to feel real. Not for the faint of heart or the weak of stomach.

17. Sex Innocent 1.0

18. Violence Monstrous 5.0

19. Rudeness Polite 1.0

21. Reality

    Natural 1.0

    Very real. Again, too real. When Christ is tortured, you can tell it hurts. And believably he cannot just walk away after. There is no magic healing to these punches, it takes its toll.

22. Circumstantial Natural 1.0

23. Biological Natural 1.0

24. Physical Natural 1.0