Risen
Joseph
Fiennes stars as
Clavius – the leader of Roman military forces occupying
Jerusalem during the time of Jesus Christ. Upon returning from battle,
he is ordered by Pontius Pilate to oversee the crucifixion of Christ
because his followers are causing an uprising in the city. Believing he
has carried out his task, Clavius returns to headquarters, and soon
finds himself in the middle of a great political struggle.
Before the crucifixion, Jesus told his followers he would resurrect in
three days, so Clavius has been sent to seal the tomb to prove the
religious figure is a mere man, and not the son of God.
When the body disappears from the tomb, Clavius must go on a manhunt to
find him, but what will he find instead?
Writer/director Kevin Reynolds and co-writer Paul Aiello need to figure
out what Risen
is supposed to be, or was it the marketing team that didn’t
understand the appeal of the movie?
Sold as an action/thriller about a dogged search for a missing man who
is inspiring the poor and downtrodden to rise up in revolt, Risen
doesn’t live up to the trailers and commercials you have been
watching for a few months.
The movie is more like a dull episode of Law
and Order as Clavius goes on to
interrogate those who believe they have seen Christ among them, spoken
to him or know where to find his followers. However, it becomes much
more interesting as Reynolds takes the focus off the search and puts it
on how it is impacting Clavius.
At that moment, Risen
becomes the movie the faithful and dedicated want, and a movie about
something, rather than going through motions. It becomes about a man
who is transforming because of his experience and what he witnesses
with his own eyes, but it takes so long to get there, you have to
wonder if anyone is still engaged enough when we do arrive at that
story.
Fiennes is doing his best to make Clavius a complicated, troubled
character as he shows us how the man is having a resurrection of his
soul. It’s a strong performance as we see the metamorphosis
of a killer into a person seeking peace and love.
Risen
is flat.
Risen
is rated PG-13 for Biblical violence
including some disturbing images.
107 Minutes
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