This is not an anti-Bill O'Reilly review as some others are. I like Bill. I watch his show most nights. I have enjoyed all of his "Killing" books, and "Killing Lincoln" was the best non-fiction book I have ever read.
That said, the movie was a huge disappointment. Not sure I can say anything not already said, but to summarize the shortcomings, not with the book, but with just the movie:
1. Whoever cast Haaz Sleiman as Jesus made a horrible choice. While he looked more like a Jew of the period than some people who have played the part, his acting was just plain bad.
2. Having the actors mumble their lines (especially Sleiman) was not a good choice.
3. I have seen high school plays with more realistic-looking beards and wigs than the ones used in this movie. They were comical!
4. Jesus didn't know who he was until John the Baptist told him? Really?
5. Was 20 or 30 really the largest crowd they could buy to follow Jesus?
6. So the movie was designed to be emotionally dark, but did it have to be literally dark and hard to see at times as well? 7. The sound was poor.
8. Despite Bill's assurances otherwise, I found that some of the violence and torture was much more explicit and graphic than necessary.
9. Jesus seemed dazed and confused much of the time. What was the actor trying to portray? Was this just bad directing?
10. Jesus' accent changed from time to time. Sometimes he sounded like an Arab, sometimes like he was from India, sometimes Scotland, and sometimes the accent was just so heavy I have no idea what he was saying or trying to be.
In short, a great book turned into a terrible movie due to bad acting, directing, and production. At least you can watch it for free, but be prepared to turn it off before the end. I did.
