Judas Movie

[cbwing0]

Tonight at 9:00 Eastern Time, ABC is showing a movie that presents the gospels from the perspective of Judas, supposedly aiming for a "sympathetic" portrayal of Judas. Apparently it also follows a somewhat liberal intepretation of the scriptures.

I will probably watch it for the same reason (although it was not the only reason) I watched The Passion: so that I will be able to discuss it intelligently with believers and skeptics alike.

Has anyone else heard about this? Are you planning to watch it?

I will post my opinion of the film after seeing it this evening.

[uc pseudonym]

Until this moment I had not heard of this feature. However, even with my awareness I fear that I have no intention of watching it. Until this thread becomes a serious discussion of the movie, however, I may be able to contribute.

I have read a novel (possibly titled "Judas") that served a similar purpose. Admittedly, there is some scriptural basis for certain positive things about Judas. He was chosen as one of the 12 Apostles, after all. While his can't be denied, you can speculate about his rationale in many ways without contradicting what was in scripture.

For example, the novel portrayed him as a Zealot. He had hoped that by putting Jesus in a dangerous situation, he could "force his hand" and make him become a military messiah, so to speak.

[Da Rabid Duckie]

The guy that owns one of the ministries that I write video game reviews for has this to say about it:
[quote] I recently previewed the TV movie Judas to be broadcast on ABC Monday, March 8. Even though the actor who played Jesus looked like a surfer dude, I watched the whole program hoping he wouldn’t tell his disciples to “chill out guys!â€

[uc pseudonym]

Heh. And I was thinking something quite different when I thought "liberal interpretation." Apparently that's pretty bad. I'd be happy to discuss what you think of it, cbwing0, if you decide to see it. Personally, my decision is just reinforced.

[Mave]

Heard about it from the Christian radio today...will check it out before I say anything else.

[Yamato145]

a catholic preist who saw it said it was okay ... i don't know the exact words but it was something like
"amongst all the bad acting, and terrible performances, it is fairly clear that jesus is the son of God."
I will actually be watching this movie and i think it will be good in the sense of positive but it sounds pretty bad as far as acting goes.

[brantelg]

I heard about this, but IMO.... It is just trying to cash in on The Passion's "controversy".

[cbwing0]

For those of you who are too lazy to read my thoughts on this movie, I will use the words of the comic book guy to summarize the film:

Worst...Jesus movie...Ever!

Yes, I think that captures it, but allow me to elaborate.

First, the movie features some truly horrid dialogue and acting. I cringed when I heard lines like "Follow me...whaddya say?," and, "Let Pilate and Caiphas dump their dirty work on someone else." I don't know the languages, but I am fairly certain that people didn't say "dirty work" or "send him packing" in the first century.

The actor that portrays Jesus is a particularly poor choice. When the scene calls for compassion, he just looks sad. When speaking to Judas for the first time, he looks like he is deceiving him. When the crown of thorns is placed on his head, he looks only mildly annoyed. The bad dialogue only exacerbates the problem. In one of the worst scenes, Judas manages to out-argue Jesus, which I seriously doubt would happen. At the end, he does not have the firm look of someone with authority and truth, but rather he hangs his head low and frowns pathetically.

However, I could forgive all of this if it were not for the outright errors in the film. For example, the sky grew dark for several hours following Jesus' death, but it lasts only a minute or two in the film. The disciples also cut down Judas after he hangs himself (btw, Judas and Jesus die at the same moment in this movie...not exactly the most reverent thing), whereas the bible says he fell from a cliff and was later buried, with no mention of the disciples. Judas also "suggests" to Jesus that he give the disciples powers of healing, exorcism, etc., as if it did not come from God (in the movie).

Even the many inaccuracies could be overlooked if the movie clearly showed that Jesus was the Son of God, but unfortunately it does not. Jesus does perform some miracles, but they are few and far between. The movie downplays the times when others recognize the deity of Christ.

But the crowning shame is that the movie does not show the resurrection, or even the empty tomb. The movie leaves viewers with a dead Jesus, rather than a risen Lord. For this reason, the movie leaves out the most important part of the gospel, making it quite limited as a means of evangelism.

As a historical film, "Judas" fails to be accurate. As a religious film, the movie shows a distorted and incomplete gospel. As an objective piece of filmmaking, the movie is plagued by bad acting, casting, and dialogue. If you did not see this movie, be glad.

[MasterDias]

*winces*

Ouch, that is pretty bad on all fronts. Evidently, it is just a pathetic attempt to cash in on The Passion.

[uc pseudonym]

Personally, I'm glad you gave detail, as I now have more intelligent reasons for not watching, if such is ever necessary. I'm wincing with MasterDias.

[cbwing0]

Evidently, it is just a pathetic attempt to cash in on The Passion.

Exactly. According to TV Guide, it was sitting around collecting dust since 2001, and they just happened to bring it out right after The Passion. I suppose it is pretty clever, since there is no way anyone would watch this movie if it wasn't riding on the coattails of The Passion.

[Inferno]

Yes I have heard of it, but I don't plan on watching it, got to much to do.