The Gospel of John

This movie came out in 2002. It stars Henry Ian Cusick as Christ. He was the British fellow who showed up in, I believe, the 3rd season of "Lost" when the hatch was opened. Christopher Plummer narrates. Defects: It uses the Living Bible translation of the Gospel of John, and it unexplainably breaks up certain scenes, like John 6, into more than one setting. Strengths: It follows faithfully, without injection of any human edits or additions, the gospel of John. Cusick's acting is tremendous, as he portrays Christ in the gospel of John, the gospel that most explains who He is. It is different from the other gospels, which display His advice and instruction. The movie is visually and, more importantly, audibly powerful because of the personality of Christ portrayed, relentless in defending his assertions, which to those of the time, appear blasphemous, insane, and worse. Christ's righteous stand for Himself, in all its unpretentious and unselfish glory, is like a tsunami of words that overwhelm the viewer with their power. It is 3 hours long, but it flies by in no time, as you wonder how this person can withstand the opposition and continue to persuade, cajole, and argue His way into the people's hearts. One must either hate Him or love Him. One must also walk away from this movie with the thought of C.S. Lewis in mind, that Christ was either the Son of God, or He was the most wicked person ever to walk the earth, or he was crazy on the level of a man who thinks himself a grapefruit. But an honest viewing of this movie will leave you dazzled with the personality of "the man," the man who did what other men could not and claimed to be what other men could not be. It is, as Variety magazine describes it, "dramatically powerful," and it is much more.