Blu-ray Review - Son of God

Son of God
Director: Christopher Spencer
Starring: Diogo Morgado, Roma Downey, Darwin Shaw
Studio: 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment
Release Date: June 3, 2014
Retail: $29.98
ASIN: B00ICWO144
Running Time: 138 minutes
Rating: PG-13

Review:

Arriving on Blu-ray and DVD today, Tuesday, June 3, 2014, is the Son of God, which was adapted from the 2013 History Channel's mini-series, The Bible. The feature film is a blend of selective scenes from the last 5-parts of The Bible and footage not shown during the mini-series. Christopher Spencer directs the film while the husband and wife duo, Mark Burnett and Roma Downey, return as producers. Special Features on the Blu-ray include Son of God: Reborn, From the Set: The Passion, Son of God: Un Reino sin Fronteras and Faith Into Practice: Introduce Children to a Relationship with Jesus Christ.

The Son Of God chronicles the life of Jesus Christ from his birth to his resurrection. The film was critically panned by critics, mostly because of its scripture inaccuracies and bad CGI shots of Jerusalem, but it managed to take in over 60 million dollars at the box-office and received an "A" Cinemascore opening weekend.

Though I was well aware of The Bible mini-series, I had chosen not to watch it, as most biblical themed mini-series are low-budget with bad acting and are just difficult to watch. Nevertheless, my grandmother loved the mini-series and she even purchased the DVD.



I don't recall the Son of God ever being advertised on television, but I did catch the producers talking about the film and I became interested in the film, which explains why I signed up to review the Blu-ray.

I don't typically read other reviews before viewing a film, but I was more than aware of the critics' negative thoughts of the film before I viewed it. Yes, there are many inaccuracies, too many to list here, but there has never been a film about Jesus Christ that has been completely accurate. Son of God gives the basic story of Jesus, which has been told several times on film and television, and sadly this film offers nothing new. What the film does have is decent performances (especially from actor Diogo Morgado, whom is playing the title role) and a likeable music score. To me the special effects weren't as bad as the critics thought they were. The pacing for the first half was a little slow for me, but it did pick up starring with the Last Supper scene. Overall, Son of God is an emotionally driven film that I did enjoy watching, though there are few errors in the script, the message of Christ is still there.

*Disclaimer - I received a complimentary copy in exchange for my honest review. All opinions are my own.