Tag Archives: The Bible

The Bible: In The Beginning

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It’s time for a pretty big epic. This is easily one of the longest films that I’ve ever seen and as a result it is able to cover an impressive amount of content. It starts from the actual start of the Bible and covers 22 entire chapters. Most impressive I have to say and it’s rare to see films be so long even nowadays so the length still holds up. It’s a great way to continue to spread the gospel and hopefully get more people to tune in and experience the events.

Of course the first big event involves Adam & Eve as they were in the Kingdom of Paradise but ultimately Eve gets tempted by the servant and then tempts Adam into sin. With the two of them thrown out, human history is really able to begin. We get to see the Earth flooded during the days of Noah, Sodom getting obliterated along with the lady who ended up looking back, there’s the Tower of Babel where humanity was scattered, and of course the offering where God tested Abraham to see if he would slay his only son.

A lot of pretty heavy subjects here and the movie isn’t really toning any of it down. So it keeps the same amount of power you would expect to see here. The movie did a good job of staying very faithful to the original source material and it’s easy to understand so even if you haven’t read the Bible you will know what is going on. Of course in that case the ending isn’t exactly definitive as there would have been sequels to cover more ground. Regardless you would need to read the Bible at some point so this could be the launch pad into doing that.

Of course that also means this film can be a little on the violent side, some parts can be a bit disturbing, etc. Films based on true events are often treated very leniently on the ratings scale. A documentary in particular could be rated G when it’s got more content than would ever be allowed in a PG-13 for example. This one isn’t like that but just to say you always want to keep your guard up for those films. The message is important so it’s worth watching regardless but if it does sound too intense you could always just use the Bible. That way you avoid all of the other extra details and keep things as simple as possible. After all in the end there is no source better than simply reading the Bible itself.

The most focus here is probably given to the events of Noah or at least it felt that way. We really see what effort it took to get all of the animals onto the ship and then to take care of them. They all behaved rather well but it’s still a ton of manual effort as you have to get the food and drink ready and do this at a good time for all of the different species which have different eating habits and everything. Throw in the fact that you’re all trapped in a boat and it will also fray the nerves after a while. No matter how big the boat is, you will want to rest on solid ground after a while. Noah’s faith was ultimately found to be strong enough to get past this though, he never wavered.

All of the greats had one thing in common which was an unwavering faith in God. They would serve him no matter what and never questioned the orders. Abraham had the toughest challenge by far in having to prepare to murder his own son as well. Even across the whole Bible there aren’t many challenges or trials that were more difficult than that. Abraham came out on top though and he is remembered very concretely for that reason. Even many books later he would still be mentioned which shows just what a pivotal role he had in the Bible.

Overall, I definitely haven’t seen a film that dove into Genesis in quite as detailed as this one did. It really held nothing back and made full use of the long run time. It’s a film you really want to absorb so don’t hesitate to pause or take a break whenever you need to do so. The writing is on point and while the film will get really intense at times, it’s the kind of thing you need to know since these are all very important events from the past. Hopefully some day they will be able to make a Movie series that covers the entire Bible. It’s so long that it would certainly be a daunting task but surely at some point someone will be able to pull it off. In the meantime at least we have had a lot of movies over the years covering different parts so that is a blessing in itself.

The Prince of Egypt

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The Prince of Egypt is a classic animated film from a while back. It’s always great to see a Bible adaption like this actually come out as a mainstream film for everyone to watch. They did a great job with this one as well. There are definitely quite a number of creative liberties but the film still gets the core messages across which is the important thing. So long as the adaption doesn’t lose the spirit of the original, I’m definitely fine with some changes in order to deliver the adventure. The animation budget and everything feels really high here as well. No expense was spared.

The movie starts off with establishing that Moses was placed in a cradle and sent out at sea so that he might live through the tragedy of every baby being hunted down by order of the king. He ends up being raised as royalty, one of the princes to the kingdom. Ramses will be the one to become king but in the meantime Moses still enjoys every benefit of being at the top. He is a bit of a rebel figure who is always having fun and getting Ramses into trouble but the two are very close and have a good dynamic. One day Moses finds out that he is actually Hebrew and can no longer turn a blind eye to the suffering they are going through. He escapes the country and then God appears to him and instructs Moses to free them. To do this he will have to endure a lot of emotional hardships as the Hebrews doubt him and he has to completely severe his bond with Ramses. Still Moses is willing to do what he must here.

One thing I did appreciate here is the extra time given to developing Moses and Ramses when the two were together at the kingdom. These two were brothers who really got along exceptionally well. There were a few moments where I was waiting for Ramses to suddenly turn super evil or something but the movie never went down that route. Ultimately he is a villain and the film doesn’t hide that but he’s very much the same guy we met in the first half of the film. Moses is just now seeing the side of him that he wouldn’t have noticed or card about back in the day.

Even once Moses returns, Ramses is initially ready to forget everything that happened between them and make him a prince again. The movie plays up the tragic angle of how they are on completely different sides now. It’s definitely not an easy spot to be in. Moses meanwhile does well to not falter or let these feelings get the best of him. He’s got a job to do and so he does it. The movie is fairly short so we have to fast blast through some of the different trials and plagues that Egypt is put through but the final one destroying all of the kids is definitely depicted in a really frightening way.

The silence of the scene outside of the heavy breeze is definitely intense. It’s a true moment of helplessness for those on the Egyptian side who can only watch as these things occur. The animation here is excellent and so you are really able to convey all of the wonders really well like the river parting and the cane turning into a serpent. Even the villains get a whole lot of fanfare as they make their copycat snakes and use shadow magic on their end. I can see some thinking the scene is a little too fantastical as it’s dragged out quite a bit to show all of the magic off but ultimately I would say that it worked pretty well. It was the most memorable song in the film to be sure and again the animation was really super. It’s rare to see an American animated film that looks so smooth even nowadays.

Naturally I would give the soundtrack a big thumbs up as well. It all looked really good and of course the writing was on point as well. This is a film that is balanced extremely well and the pacing is great as well. This is the kind of title that I feel can definitely help to spread the gospel well. People just have to look past the spectacle and then hopefully read the Bible to read on and really join the faith. If the movie could reach even just a few people then of course it would have all been worth it.

It’s definitely about time that I check this one out. I forgot about this one for a while there but it’s the kind of title where are soon as you hear the title then you remember that this was a really big film. It would be nice to see more adaptions in the future since the Bible is full of tons of moments that could be turned into really great films and each one can always be used as a learning opportunity in addition to just being great viewing.

Overall, this is a movie I would definitely recommend. It’s got enough action and thrilling moments to get casual fans interested and still touches on enough of the important themes for biblical scholars to appreciate as well. I do think the movie was careful about the changes and so the whole thing was a really good faith effort. For any adaption you want to make sure that it can stand on its own as well and this one certainly does. It just hits all of the right notes and has a good amount of replay value. The film is even able to get a little dark which is fairly necessary in this adventure due to the background of what was going on. The dramatic shading, the sound effects, yeah the movie held nothing back.

The Nativity Story

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It’s time to check out The Nativity Story. Considering that this one got to claim this title you can say that it’s seen as the definitive film adaption of this moment in time. It’s definitely got very solid production values and they did well to adapt everything here. There’s a lot of attention to detail throughout each part of the movie and no corners were cut here. The movie has definitely aged well and of course it’s always nice to see the events of the Bible played out on the big screen.

The film really focuses a lot on Mary and her coming to terms with all of this. Initially she did not even know Joseph and the whole arranged marriage came really suddenly. Mary was understandably not a fan of this but ultimately goes along with it so as not to disappoint her family. What makes matters tricky for her is that she ends up being pregnant with Jesus despite not having any affairs. It is difficult to actually convince anyone of this though so her reputation is shot. It’s definitely a rather difficult burden that she has to bear in the meantime.

Same with Joseph as he is pressured by the customs to out Mary and have her stoned. He decides not to do this of course and makes the heroic choice of keeping this to himself but for a while he doesn’t totally believe her either. It’s definitely something that is tough to believe, particularly since he was well aware that she was not happy about the marriage initially. Fortunately things turn out for the best and they manage to finally get along by the end. Usually in the films we cut to the end when Jesus is born and the 3 Wise Men appear so this was a bit of a change of pace with how the focus was on the earlier events. The birth doesn’t happen until near the very end of the film and isn’t the main subject this time.

So I would say the main theme of the film was faith. Ultimately each character needed a whole lot of that to survive here. Joseph had to have faith in Mary telling him the truth and overcoming the dreams he would have. Mary had to have faith that she actually saw the angel and everything was as foretold, etc. Without faith none of the characters would have been able to make it to the end. Even the Wise Men needed this or else they may have lost sight of the star and ended up giving up on the journey halfway.

They are the comedic plot of the film as they bicker a lot and have a lot of fun on the way there. You can tell that the 3 of them are good friends and are close enough to mess with each other like that. Fortunately they’re also wise enough not to tip off the king about exactly where Jesus was and just keep on moving. I’ll give the film credit for not making the King quite as obvious about how evil he was compared to other adaptions. He also felt like a very imposing figure with how he threatened his only son and showed how he has stayed in power for so long. Definitely not someone you want to get in the way of.

This is an adaption everyone can be proud of. It sticks close to the scriptures and I wouldn’t say any of the scenes felt like they didn’t belong. Naturally the film does need to expand on some scenes and throw in a lot of extra moments to pad out the runtime, but it was never anything that made you feel like the writers were messing things up. I get the feeling they did a lot of research here and likely collaborated with scholars to learn more about the customs and how a day to day life would have been like. There are a lot of people who make a career out of that so you could definitely get some good background elements this way.

While the events in the Old Testament were massive and living through them would have been quite the experience, it’s also abundantly clear that it would have been a very difficult age to live in. The film shows in detail just how tough life was on everyone there. Food was scarce and you could always count on thieves and soldiers showing up to erase all of your hard work. There were no modern conveniences and walking for miles was a normal thing. There was no part of daily life that was easy and it’s really something to think about. We have the privilege of knowing everything from the future as opposed to living through it. We all face trials and they would be different in the past compared to the present but I’m personally glad I’m in a future era. Naturally it’s moot since if I grew up back then I wouldn’t know the difference since it would seem normal to me but I’m rather used to this era.

Overall, The Nativity Story is a really solid Christian film. It’s a good adaption of the birth of Jesus Christ and serves as more of a prequel compared to most adaptions. There’ a lot going on here and each of the characters gets a lot of development. They spared no expense on the visuals and soundtrack throughout the film. It’s all a very impressive production here and with Easter quickly approaching it’s always a good time to reminisce about the birth of Jesus Christ. That would ultimately lead to the Resurrection and then bring us up to the current date. Now’s a great time to watch the film as well as any time. Just as it has held up over all these years, I expect it will continue to do so as the years go by. It’ll be difficult to make a more detailed adaption of the Nativity.

Left Behind

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This is a movie I certainly haven’t seen in a very long while. It takes a look at the events to come from the Book of Revelations. That book is always of particular interest as it deals with the events which have not yet happened and serves as a preview to the future. There have been many books, movies, and talks on these events since we are all naturally curious about how things will turn out. Nobody knows when the end of the world will take place after all but that it will happen.

The movie starts off by introducing us to Buck who is a reporter for GNN. He was in Israel covering the discovery of a type of food source which could eliminate world hunger for good. Every country in the world wants some of this but not to share so the scientist has not given anyone the formula. One day Israel is attacked by a great number of planes but they are all mysteriously destroyed. Buck wants to find out the meaning of this but then while he is on a plane, a lot of people vanish.

Another character’s perspective that we see is from Rayford, a pilot who is currently cheating on his wife with a flight attendant. Hattie has decided to join the UN to get away from this situation and Rayford is unsure of what to do when people start vanishing. This leads him to head home where his son and wife are gone but his daughter Chloe remains. He meets up with Pastor Bruce and finally accepts the Lord and the Bible’s teachings. Meanwhile Buck is unconvinced that this is the rapture from the Bible and believes there is some kind of conspiracy going on and it involves the UN as well as their new head Nicolae.

So there’s a lot going on here. Buck makes for a pretty solid main character. He’s all about reporting the truth and wants to find a scientific answer for everything. A lot of his reactions here seem pretty realistic as I’m sure everyone will be trying to come up with reasons of their own for why so many people have vanished. I’m sure humanity will come up with something a little more convincing than sudden radiation but there will undoubtedly be some “explanation” at hand. Given that there will be people who stick around that claim to be Christians, that would likely muddle the water as well.

Throughout the film Buck gradually opens his heart up more and more though which makes for a very solid character arc here. Not everyone will open up to the truth but it’s always good to follow a lead who does. It’ll end up shaping how he acts in the films to come. It was also a good way for him to see Nicolae’s true intentions while those who were not protected by the Holy Spirit could only see illusions at the time.

The scene where Nicolae awakens his abilities as the Anti Christ and starts to use his abilities is a very tense scene to be sure. The special effects used to make the screen darker were very solid and the contrast for when things went normal again was very effective. In general I thought Left Behind did a very good job of always keeping the atmosphere at a very ominous level. It felt like grand things were happening and it was all unnerving as the events continued to unfold.

Nicolae makes for a very solid villain as well. Definitely not someone you want to cross and he’s also someone who can easily manipulate everyone in his way. Even the scenes where he is acting timid just make you think that he’s trying to get the other characters to lower their guard. Hattie is an antagonist as well to a degree as she was one of the obstacles in Rayford’s way. She may be good friends with Buck but ultimately we see that she is not a very virtuous person.

Of course neither was Rayford before the rapture occurs. That’s why I didn’t end up liking the guy all that much. It’s only after the rapture where he turns over a new leaf and starts to make the right call. Better late than never though and he’ll be in a good spot for the second movie. His daughter Chloe had a lot more resistance initially and made things hard on the main characters but by the end of the film she’s finally on board as well.

Finally we have Bruce who is in the awkward position of being the pastor of a Church where just about everyone vanished. He was quite good at preaching the gospel as he himself said, but he still didn’t believe. It’s probably the most tragic case here as he knew the scriptures quite well but somewhere along his journey, he must have fallen off or just lost his enthusiasm as he slipped away. This did serve as a wakeup call to him though and now his faith has been renewed.

I think after an event like the rapture happens, that’s the single biggest moment for a lot of people to become Christians. If someone doesn’t convert after that, then I doubt they ever will because it’s hard to find an instance that would be clearer than this. It’s why it will be interesting to see what explanations are given when this happens. Of course I don’t plan to be around when that does happen. The whole idea is you want to become a Christian before the rapture so you don’t have to go through all of this. Being around afterwards will end up being a nightmare even if it’s hard to picture the countries becoming so crazy at that point. It’ll definitely be happening when the tribulations start.

The movie has a whole subplot with government conspiracies and people trying to rule the world in the background. I think it works pretty well since I’m sure there will be a lot of that going around at the same time. Even while historic events like the rapture are ongoing, I feel like a lot of people will still be going about their business as usual. Whether that means going to work or committing crimes, people will seize the opportunity. With the Christians gone, that will also mean it’s probably a lot easier for these criminals to get to work. There are a lot of good people who are not Christians (Which is always the really tragic part) but the ratio absolutely gets reduced at this point so the world immediately becomes a darker place.

Overall, Left Behind is an effective look at what will happen when Christians all vanish from the Earth at once. The movie did a good job of showing everyone’s reactions and how different people handled this. I would have liked to have seen Chaim’s reaction though. He’s the only character we didn’t see react to this and I feel like he should have had some kind of reaction. The movie title is certainly straight to the point as the film deals with those who have been Left Behind. The writing is solid and the character cast is good so it ends up being a complete movie all around. I’ll definitely write about the sequel as well as soon as I’ve rewatched that one.

Son of God

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I saw this film as part of the Easter batch to celebrate Resurrection Sunday. What better way to celebrate the resurrection of Jesus Christ, the Son of God than by watching the film adaption by the same name? It’s always good to see movies adapting the Bible to keep the events fresh in everyone’s minds. There’s also so much to cover that each film can focus on something different. This one mainly focuses on adapting the events from when Jesus was an adult through to his death with a few scenes from after the resurrection. It’s always interesting seeing which scenes will get selected and which ones have to be left out.

If you’re familiar with your Bible reading then you are likely familiar with the story. The government grows concerned when they learn of Jesus Christ who is said to be the Messiah. He has accumulated a large following which frightens the local religious leaders in particular since he is effectively turning their society upside down. They try to convince the Romans to execute him but they will have to be the ones to make the first move. They convince one of Jesus’ 12 Disciples to sell him out so they can carry out their mission. Jesus is well aware of what they are doing but allows all of this happen so he can die for humanity’s sins as well as resurrect to further strengthen their belief in him.

It’s a very complete movie and they did a good job of getting the setting to feel like how things would have looked back then. The film can certainly get a little on the violent side although I’ve heard it isn’t nearly as much so as in other adaptions so that’s something to note. The Passion of the Christ is typically known as the most intense version to be sure. The casting was also on point and you can tell a lot of thought was put into this one. It follows the Bible carefully which is important.

I imagine there’s probably always a temptation to add new elements in or try to flesh out details that weren’t recorded but it’s always best to just go by what is actually recorded as historical fact than trying to add something extra. Then you run the risk of going completely off the boat like in the Noah film that had rock golems and such that just felt too out there. Why make assumptions on things that were not recorded right?

The event of the resurrection is still one of the most important events to this day because it proves that Jesus actually had the power and position he claimed. If he had not resurrected then it would have appeared that he really was just performing some kind of trick. After all, in the Bible we do see that Lucifer is able to give his followers a degree of power as seen in Moses when they were able to turn their staffs into snakes as well. They just weren’t as powerful because ultimately Lucifer’s power will never be in the same ballpark as God’s.

It’s always important to reflect on this each year on Easter since it is the true meaning for the event. It’s fun to enjoy the eggs and the fun little festivities as well but you can’t let it distract from the true meaning of the day. Easter is much like Christmas in that respect. You may have a good time with the cookies in the oven and seeing Santa Claus running around but the only reason the day is so huge is because it’s when Jesus was born and the future finally started. It’s the day that gives meaning to each of our lives and the promise of Heaven upon our departure is the prize at the end of the journey. Above all else you have to always remember the goal since it will help to push you through any tough days and further brighten the happy ones.

Overall, Son of God is certainly a solid adaption and one that is worth checking out. It’s a faithful representation of the events and covers a lot of ground within its run-time. You can definitely pair it with some of the earlier films like The Ten Commandments which also cover the earlier events. The Bible is a massive book so there is always a lot to cover. One day it would be nice to have a complete adaption at least of the New Testament but I do understand why you would mainly focus on this time period since it’s really at the crux of Christianity itself. The truth of the Cross and the sacrifice made that day is what allows us to keep on going and live for a brighter tomorrow.

The Ten Commandments

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I don’t watch 3 hour+ films often, but when I do I usually watch quality ones. The Ten Commandments is a legendary film and the poster is quite iconic at this point. The Bible is huge and as a result, most of it has not yet been adapted to the big screen. This film did a great job of essentially adapting the full story of Moses and adding in as many details as it can. Throwing in extra backstory is always a tricky process since you want to be careful not to deviate from what happened, but the film does a good job of it. It certainly is very long, but it’s an informative movie and a must watch for all viewers.

In case you aren’t familiar with this part of the Bible, here’s the situation. The Pharaoh decreed that all male Hebrew babies were to be slaughtered in an effort to prevent the deliverer from arising and freeing them from slavery. Fortunately for Moses, his mother sent him away in a basket to the Egyptians where he was raised up as a prince. Nobody knew about his true origin and he slowly grew to power. However, before he could become King, Moses found out the truth and decided he’d rather live as a slave with his people then rule under a false pretense. As a result, he lost everything and nearly died, but God was not finished with him. Moses was going to be the deliverer of the Hebrews after all.

Since the film is so long, it’s able to give a lot of time to each act. The first act is naturally about Moses growing up and then learning the truth. On one hand, you may think Moses could have helped the Hebrews right away if he had become King and then done away with slavery. On the other hand, living with the deception may not feel just. It’s one of those tough calls where it’s hard to know what you’d do. You have to have a lot of will power to trade fame, power, and a comfortable lifestyle over being a slave to do the right thing. Moses also lose his future wife and made an enemy out of everyone in power. It was certainly not an easy choice to make.

The second act covers when Moses returns to Egypt and God delivers many plagues as the Pharaoh continues to deny his people freedom. Once the final plague occurs and his son is killed, the Moses is finally able to lead his people out. Even then the Pharaoh decided to try one last attempt to slay them, which leads to the famous moment of the river parting and all of the soldiers being annihilated. The scene was handled very well and the film spared no expense on the effects. It would certainly be pretty amazing to see such a sight in person.

Finally, the last segment is about Moses obtaining the Ten Commandments from God. While he is on the mountain the Hebrews begin to worship fallen idols and regress almost entirely to how the Egyptians acted. Moses breaks the Commandments and has to get them a second time as a result. The film ends on a rather sad note though as Moses is not allowed to go on to the Promised Land because of how he hit the rock for water when he wasn’t supposed too. The scene is not in the movie though so if you only know this story through the film you may not understand why he wasn’t allowed inside. The film doesn’t really explain it and part of why the scene is so tragic is because it was such a small mistake. I think scholars have theorized that he struck the rock to show off his own power and had developed hubris over the years or something. There are quite a few theories out there, but sometimes there is no deep reason. Perhaps he just had a bad day and his patience was thin which led to him striking the rock. Whatever the reason, while the ending was tragic, Moses accomplished great things. Through God, Moses saved thousands of lives and brought everyone out of slavery.

The Ten Commandments is certainly an uplifting movie. It’s great to see the story of Moses in movie format and also great to see how well known and legendary it became. It goes to show that if the quality of the story is good then you can certainly have a film over 3 hours. The intermission was appreciated as well since it gave me time to grab a snack and then continue on. The visuals and soundtrack were on point throughout as well.

Overall, The Ten Commandments is a movie that you do not want to miss out on. It’s not everyday that we get a Christian film which gets this mainstream and is handled well. If I had anything I’d change with the film, I’d reduce a large part of the first section where we get a subplot of the carpenter and the servant who can’t be together because of a rich slave owner. That plot was extremely dark and I don’t see how it really contributed. Beyond that, the rest of the adaption was completely on point. While the film can be dark and somewhat brutal at times, it’s still something that you really should see. I avoid sad/tragic tales myself, but since this is real life and stuff that you can’t avoid, it’s worth checking out. The Bible can be rather violent as well, but it’s still something that you’ve got to read at some point. You can appreciate the sacrifices that our predecessors made even more when you understand their tribulations. As the saying goes, Light is always brightest after the darkness. Don’t think that the film is constantly dark either though, there’s a good balance throughout.