34
Metascore
6 reviews · Provided by Metacritic.com
- 63TV Guide MagazineMaitland McDonaghTV Guide MagazineMaitland McDonaghThis is not a film for neophytes: It proceeds from the assumption that the viewer is familiar with the events and people of Jesus' life, and is probably right in doing so: Its intended audience is seriously Christian.
- 50Baltimore SunChris KaltenbachBaltimore SunChris KaltenbachSave for Jesus' skin color, which he shares with some of his fellow Jews, little about the story is re-imagined or re-evaluated.
- 50Philadelphia InquirerSteven ReaPhiladelphia InquirerSteven ReaFilled with close-ups of Jesus and his apostles (all the better to hide the absence of elaborate period sets), mixing quotes from the Scripture with flat exposition, this low-budget affair is earnest and, alas, more than a little bit cartoonish.
- 30VarietyTodd McCarthyVarietyTodd McCarthyOnce the revisionist frisson of a black Jesus, not to mention Mary, Joseph and Judas, has worn off, one is stuck with more mundane matters such as story dynamics, visual style and character verisimilitude, much to the misfortune of the audience.
- 30Washington PostStephen HunterWashington PostStephen HunterThis feels like a cramped, TV-style retelling, with small groups of people, no special effects, in some ways almost cheesy.
- 30The New York TimesJeannette CatsoulisThe New York TimesJeannette CatsoulisThough the film's final, disturbing image forces race to the forefront and belatedly raises wider issues of persecution, its most controversial suggestion is not that Jesus might have been black but that he might have been a really terrible actor.