{"id":6860,"date":"2016-02-25T15:07:07","date_gmt":"2016-02-25T15:07:07","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.cvm.org.uk\/blog\/?p=6860"},"modified":"2016-02-25T15:07:37","modified_gmt":"2016-02-25T15:07:37","slug":"risen-12a","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.cvm.org.uk\/blog\/reviews\/risen-12a\/","title":{"rendered":"Risen (12a)"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Director:<\/strong> Kevin Reynolds<\/p>\n

Cast:<\/strong> Joseph Fiennes, Tom Felton, Peter Firth, Cliff Curtis, Mar\u00eda Botto, Luis Callejo, Antonio Gil<\/p>\n

Reviewed by Matt Adcock (@Cleric20<\/a>)<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat frightens you?\u201d<\/em>
\n \u201cBeing wrong. Wagering eternity on him.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

Welcome to one of the biggest and most speculated about events in history. It\u2019s 33 A.D. – a key date for the biblical narrative as it was when Jesus \/ Yeshua (played here with huge amounts of charisma by Cliff \u2018Fear The Walking Dead\u2019 Curtis) was crucified and buried. Yes, Risen is the latest bible-em-up reworking of the resurrection, overlapping and following on from the events in Mel Gibson\u2019s The Passion of The Christ.<\/p>\n

The difference this time is that Director and co-writer Kevin \u2018Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves\u2019 Reynolds retells the events through the eyes of a non-believing Roman Centurion named Clavius (Joseph \u2018Shakespeare In Love\u2019 Fiennes).<\/p>\n

As religious fervor threatens to ignite civil unrest across Judea in the wake of the disappearance of Jesus\u2019s body, the Roman Prefect, Pontius Pilate (Peter \u2018Spooks\u2019 Firth) orders an inquiry into what exactly happened. The religious leaders and Pharisees claim that the body had been stolen by Christ\u2019s followers, the soldiers tasked with guarding the tomb go into hiding fearing for their lives and the rumours of a resurrection start to spread.<\/p>\n

Risen (although possibly the biggest spoiler title for a movie ever) starts off effectively setting the scene with Clavius and his men caught up in a bloody skirmish with Jewish renegades. As the events of the first Easter Weekend unfold, turmoil and uncertainty run rampant through the city and it\u2019s well portrayed \u2013 and avoids falling into the \u2018Life of Brian\u2019 style farce.<\/p>\n

Fiennes is good as the hard bitten Clavius and his journey is compelling as he gets to lead, along with his ambitious aide Lucius (Tom \u2018Harry Potter\u2019 Felton), the manhunt for Yeshua\u2019s body.<\/p>\n

As a Christian who reviews films, I\u2019m often massively let down by the attempts to bring scripture or overtly \u2018pro-faith\u2019 stories to the medium of film. I really don\u2019t want to be \u2018preached at\u2019 any more than the next cinema goer. The fact that Risen actually works as a historical thriller for much of its running time before eventually getting a bit carried away with the \u2018it must be true\u2019 narrative is to the credit of the filmmakers. It\u2019s kind of like an ancient times alternative to a Dan Brown novel.<\/p>\n

But seeing as the \u2018did Jesus rise from the dead?\u2019 question is one that continues to be asked 2,000 years later, Risen is a thought provoking option for cinema audiences to mull over this Easter.<\/p>\n

Thinking Material<\/strong><\/p>\n

You won\u2019t need to be Columbo to unravel the \u2018mystery\u2019 of Risen \u2013 the film makers make sure that viewers will be in NO DOUBT that Jesus is very much alive (and not just in the hearts of believers). But it doesn\u2019t matter if you\u2019re a fervent God bothered type or a serious sceptic whose somehow never come across the New Testament story of Christ, this is a film that delivers enough thinking and talking points to warrant a decent conversation.
\nWhy does it matter? Well, if Risen is telling the truth \u2013 then it changes absolutely everything!<\/p>\n

CVM Rating: *** 3 out of 5 stars<\/strong><\/p>\n

Related Films: The Passion of The Christ, Jesus of Nazareth<\/p>\n

Additional resources:<\/p>\n