the passion of the christ – 2 stars

i wish i’d had the chance to write this a couple days earlier when it was hotter news, but there’s still a chance i can save some people from seeing this movie over the coming weekend, so maybe it’s not too late.

that’s right, the passion receives a hearty ‘don’t bother’ rating from this site at least. i know that most people feel like they have to just to have their own opinion on the hype and debate surrounding it, and that’s what got me into the theatre. the experience that followed was a fairly brutal (although not as unrelentingly violent as other reviews had prepared me for) but ultimately uninspiring, entirely literal depiction of the story i already knew. aside from a few visual additions like the satan character moving through the crowds, and some exceedingly brief flashback scenes, all you get is the filmed version of the stations of the cross.

the problem with the passion then is that there’s not enough to work with; it shows you what the bible and the church have already told you. maybe this works spiritual wonders for those who already put so much stock into the harsh events they believe to have happened, but for someone outside the faith the film still lacks on the side of moving or fascinating the viewer. i would definitely say this was an affirmation for the believers, not at all a transformation for the rest.

my big problem with the film is that it doesn’t have an argument, really. gibson should have spent more (or any, really) time on the message jesus preached during his life, and culminated in him sacrificing his life for that message. i think that story arc would have given me more of a ‘love thy neighbor’ hope in the universe — despite my sturdy atheism — if it had at least come together as a strong, emotional film. as is though, my only big reaction after having seen it is sadness at the fact that humans actually did those things to eachother as punishment, and the suspicion that mel really just wanted to show the true believers how much jesus must have loved them if he suffered such a hideous death on their behalf. a nice lesson for the christians, i suppose, but not such a strong cinematic work to the more objective. frankly, i think i’d rather go to church.