Rogue Cinema - Jesus Versus the Messiah (2007)

Jesus Versus the Messiah (2007) - By Brian Morton
Posted on Thursday, May 01 @ Mountain Daylight Time by Duane

Religion and movies is an odd mix for me. Yes, I've seen The Ten Commandments and The Passion Of The Christ, but you always get the feeling that someone's political agenda is somehow being forwarded to the weak-minded through these types of movies...I'm looking at you Mel Gibson! Well, a new movie takes the bold step of being a religious movie, while still managing to be original and innovative. It's called Jesus Versus the Messiah and it's an interesting take on the Biblical tale of the crucifixion.

The kernel of the movie is that Jesus never died on the cross, but rather ran away intent on keeping his mortal life. Now, centuries later, he's being hunted by an angel who's determined to make Jesus do the right thing and make the sacrifice that will save society. The problem is that Jesus still isn't sure that he wants to die, so the chase is on!

Ultimately, Jesus Versus the Messiah is more a comment on our own beliefs rather than any direct attack on religion. The movie dares to ask us to look at ourselves and what we believe and wonder, if everything we actually believe in were shown to be (most likely) false, would we still have the faith to believe. In the film, the character, Sally, is faced with the dilemma of whether or not this man is the real Jesus, or just some insane person who thinks he is...and, ultimately, if he's a kind soul, does it make any difference at all. I'm giving Jesus Versus the Messiah three out of four cigars, because once we get the idea of what's going on, it takes quite a while to get to the climax that we're pretty sure is coming. You can check out this interesting movie for yourself by heading over to Jesus Versus the Messiah.com to find out more. So, until next time, when I'll be sitting here dealing with my own messiah complex, remember that the best movies are bad movies.