Movie Review: RISEN

The resurrection of our Lord Jesus is indeed the pivotal point of history: not just HUMAN history, but COSMIC history.

The 2016 Columbia/Sony Pictures film "RISEN" is the first major motion picture within my memory that treats Christ's return from death both seriously and (essentially) Biblically. Even my favorite Jesus-related TV movie, Jesus of Nazareth, glossed over this important event, treating it as a spiritualized thing that might or might not have only happened in the minds of the Lord's devoted followers.

The crucial thing about Jesus' resurrection that absolutely must be depicted, if a movie is to have any genuinely Christian impact, is that He was raised in a real, physical body, interacted as a physical person with His disciples as well as others, and that He physically ascended to His Father in heaven.

Except for the ascension, which was handled rather mystically and "into the sunset," this movie scores high marks on all of the above requirements.

It's so effective that the story in the film uses a pagan Roman officer as its reluctant protagonist. Joe Fiennes does a superb job balancing sympathy with skepticism as he investigates the disappearance of Jesus' body. His character leaves no stone unturned (literally!) in his attempt to unearth the answers to the mystery. Both Pilate and the Jewish Sanhedrin are convinced the disciples stole the body while the guards were asleep, but Clavius, the Roman tribune insists on following the evidence wherever it leads him.

Without providing any "spoilers" to those who haven't seen it yet, let me say that this dedicated investigator finds his answers--in fact, more answers than he's ready for.

I've glanced at some reviews of "RISEN" by the conventional news reviewers. They generally think the movie too simplistic or predictable or "Sunday School"ish. But I respectfully disagree. The production values, acting, and especially the content, of this movie are very impressive, and I expect that the most jaded and skeptical Christian viewer will be encouraged in knowing that at least one person in Hollywood cares enough about the good news of Christ to get the resurrection right!