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Thoughts on "The Passion of Christ"

After months of anticipation, I finally got the chance to view Mel Gibson's movie, "The Passion of Christ," on Saturday night. The theater was packed, although there were a few empty seats right on the front couple of rows. Seems like a lot of families and church groups had gone together and were sitting in blocks. It was nice to see a Christian movie sold out.

Things I liked: Overall, I liked the movie. For the most part, it was biblically correct. I think the portrayal of the physical suffering of Christ was the most realistic that has ever been shown in film. The acting was top notch, especially the actor who played Pontius Pilate. He deserves an Oscar nomination for his job, but don't look for it. I liked the original languages -- the subtitles did not take away from the movie, and I did enjoy listening for words that I recognized from the Bible (Adonai -- Abba). Also, no previews for other movies were shown -- I really appreciated that. It would have taken away from the movie.

Things I didn't like: While the movie did do a great job showing the physical suffering of Christ, I don't believe it spent enough time showing the spiritual suffering that Christ suffered. It was hinted at, especially in the beginning scenes when Christ was being tempted by Satan, but it was never clearly expressed in the movie. I worry that those who don't understand the spiritual side of Christ's sacrifice might miss this very important part. Minor extra-biblical items and biblically incorrect items (not doctrinely incorrect) were present that I noticed, including Veronica's veil (extra-biblical), Jesus taught standing up (Rabbis always taught sitting down in those days), Peter and John were sitting in the wrong place at the last supper. Minor points, but they distracted me during the movie.

Summary: Overally, it was a decent movie. Not life-changing for me as I expected from all the hype, but a good movie none-the-less. I plan on going back in a few weeks after the crowds die down and watch it again without the expectations. Final thoughts -- Go see it! Take friends to see it! Discuss it amongst yourself. But look for the living Christ instead of the one on the screen.