Son of God (film)

Plot

John, the last surviving follower of Jesus, lives in exile as a hermit near the seaside and recounts his time with Jesus. Jesus is born in Bethlehem to the virgin Mary and her husband Joseph, and three wise men visit him. Thirty years later, Jesus travels to Galilee and recruits disciples including James, John, Peter, Matthew, and Mary Magdalene. Through teachings and miracles, he gains a following and is called the Messiah, drawing the attention of the Pharisees.

Jesus says he is the Son of God. He travels to Jerusalem for Passover, entering on a donkey as supporters lay palm leaves. Caiaphas fears Jesus will agitate the people against the Romans led by Pontius Pilate, who warned that any trouble would close the temple. Jesus upends money changers' tables in the temple, drawing cheers and scorn.

He tells a little girl every stone of the temple will fall, and the Pharisees decide he must be stopped. Judas approaches the Pharisees, believing Jesus goes too far, and receives 30 pieces of silver. At the Last Supper, Jesus says one disciple will betray him. In the Garden of Gethsemane, Judas kisses Jesus, identifying him to the Pharisees, and Jesus is arrested as the disciples flee.

Cast

Diogo Morgado portrays Jesus Christ, a carpenter from Nazareth who is the son of God. Greg Hicks plays Pontius Pilate, the governor of Judaea who orders the crucifixion. Adrian Schiller is Caiaphas, the high priest.

Darwin Shaw plays Simon Peter, a former fisherman and disciple. Sebastian Knapp portrays John, also a former fisherman and disciple. Joe Wredden plays Judas Iscariot, the disciple who betrays Jesus. Simon Kunz is Nicodemus, a leading Pharisee.

Paul Marc Davis plays Simon the Pharisee. Matthew Gravelle portrays Thomas, the doubting disciple. Amber Rose Revah plays Mary Magdalene, and Roma Downey plays Mary, the mother of Jesus.

Production

The film combines clips from the miniseries with previously unaired footage, but omits Satan’s scenes. That character’s actor, Mohamen Mehdi Ouazanni, was said to resemble Barack Obama, a likeness Glenn Beck first noted. Casting director Carl Proctor called the resemblance purely coincidental. The trailer includes David, Adam, Sodom’s destruction, and Moses parting the Red Sea.

Reception

Son of God grossed $59.7 million in North America and $11.2 million in other territories for a worldwide total of $70.9 million against a $22 million budget. It was projected to gross around $27 million in its opening weekend, made $1.2 million from Thursday night previews, and ended up making $26.5 million in its first weekend. On Rotten Tomatoes, 17% of critics gave a positive review based on 71 reviews, with an average rating of 4.69/10; the site's consensus called the film dull and heavy-handed.

Metacritic assigned a weighted average score of 37 out of 100 based on 25 critics, indicating generally unfavorable reviews. Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave an average grade of A−. Nell Minow of Beliefnet gave a B grade, calling it a conventional cinematic Sunday School lesson that may inspire believers. Jim Slotek of the Toronto Sun gave 3 stars.

Ben Kenigsberg of The A.V. Club gave a C, noting the film finds time for lessons alongside bloodletting and that its core ideas are more compelling than its effects shots.