52
Metascore
14 reviews · Provided by Metacritic.com
- 80VarietyTodd McCarthyVarietyTodd McCarthyDramatically powerful, surprising in its strong narrative differences from previous cinematic tellings of "the greatest story" and bold in the extent to which it presents Jesus as a confrontational and threatening figure in the Judean context of the time.
- 80L.A. WeeklyScott FoundasL.A. WeeklyScott FoundasIt aims simply to relate a great and enveloping story -- one that may lead us to ponder the things that unite (rather than distance) peoples of differing belief systems, and may compel us to marvel at the many wonderful and horrible endeavors undertaken in the name of religion.
- 75San Francisco ChronicleRuthe SteinSan Francisco ChronicleRuthe SteinSurprisingly robust.
- 70The Hollywood ReporterMichael RechtshaffenThe Hollywood ReporterMichael RechtshaffenThis well-made epic boasts carefully researched production values and the talents of classically trained actors, but by literally playing it by the book, the picture loses something dramatic in the translation.
- 60Los Angeles TimesKenneth TuranLos Angeles TimesKenneth TuranThough it has loftier aims, it is in reality strictly a film made by believers for believers. It's like the Discovery Channel version of the Greatest Story Ever Told, an earnest, not particularly distinguished piece of work that has none of the touch of the poet that made Pasolini's "The Gospel According to St. Matthew" such a triumph.
- 50Christian Science MonitorDavid SterrittChristian Science MonitorDavid SterrittIt's interesting to see a movie of this kind based on a single gospel, with no additions or interpolations from other sources. But except for a few scenes that evoke the reverent beauty of Renaissance painting, the filmmaking and acting are awfully stiff -- certainly not worthy of the timeless story being told.
- 50Baltimore SunMichael SragowBaltimore SunMichael SragowWatching The Gospel of John is like listening to a religious audiotape while working a picture flip-book of the Bible.
- 42Entertainment WeeklyOwen GleibermanEntertainment WeeklyOwen GleibermanAltogether too faithful to its source. The makers of this ponderously middlebrow Canadian production have re-created the Gospel of John in its pristine entirety -- word for word, miracle for miracle.
- 40Washington PostAnn HornadayWashington PostAnn HornadayA slick, earnest, ultimately inert adaptation of the eponymous book of the Bible.
- 40Washington PostMichael O'SullivanWashington PostMichael O'SullivanA dramatization of the life of Christ that takes as its script a word-for-word translation of the Gospel according to John, the adaptation is not so much tedious as pointless.