Words to describe this mess of a movie: bombastic, muddled, grandiose, grandiloquent, disconnected, emotionally detached. There wasn't any real connection between any of the characters and the scenes of the apostles being called were forced. The writing - so lacking and none of the peoples motivations made any sense, like when Matthew was called. You have to suspend belief to actually make the scene work. Every scene attempted to be a grandiose painting attempting to force grand emotion where none existed, except the scene where Sidney Poitier as Simon took the cross from Jesus near the end. That scene moved me as it felt heartfelt. None of the rest did. The apostles were blank emotionless statues who were mostly just lounging around looking reverent. Even Mary the mother of Jesus only ever looked reverent, even when her son was being tortured and hanging bleeding on the cross. Thank god (pardon the pun) for the fast forward button. To truly see something more real, watch The Chosen. It's free and has more time to flesh out the characters over multiple seasons. That is by far the best portrayal of Jesus and the disciples and followers that I have ever seen. Skip this emotionless mess with no real dialogue to speak of where time stands still and where Jesus still has good hair after being tortured. Like seriously.
Review of The Greatest Story Ever Told
