'Risen' a daring, contemporary look at a biblical story
One of the benefits of hanging out with Jesus during the days after his resurrection was, apparently, having perfect teeth.
Pearly white, perfectly formed, impeccably clean.
"Risen," Kevin Reynolds' bold re-imagining of Jesus Christ's defiance of death, isn't the first biblical epic to suffer a lapse of authentic detail, especially when it comes to the apostles. (Even characters in Stanley Kubrick's "Spartacus" brandished occasional wrist watches along with swords.)
Still, "Risen" may be the first biblical drama to blend a strong cast and impressive production values with generous amounts of Christian joy and unexpected humorous flourishes.
"Risen" represents a daring, contemporary departure from most Jesus-centric dramas such as "The King of Kings" (the 1927 silent), "The Greatest Story Ever Told," the R-rated "The Last Temptation of Christ" and the R-rated "Passion of the Christ."
Reynolds, directing a screenplay he wrote with Paul Aiello, takes inspiration from "Ben Hur - A Tale of the Christ" by making the hero a disbelieving outsider, then sets up the plot as a mystery about an investigator searching for a missing person.
Here, it's a missing corpse.
Armed with a brutal Greek profile, Caesarian-cut coif and trendy 11 o'clock shadow, Joseph Fiennes fully commits to his role as Clavius, a stoic Roman tribune who appears even more battered and bruised than Daniel Craig's James Bond.
At a table, a lowly peasant notices Clavius' official tribune ring and asks him how he came to be in this place. Clavius begins his story as a Roman official assigned by Pontius Pilate (Peter Firth) to remove the body of Jesus (Yeshua in Hebrew) from the cross.
Clavius, with his right hand soldier Lucius ("Harry Potter" star Tom Felton), must protect the corpse from Yeshua's devoted followers, who believe he will rise from the grave three days after his crucifixion. Pilate fears this political group may steal the body, then claim that Yeshua did indeed rise as foretold.
Clavius himself supervises the placement of a huge round stone over the opening to Yeshua's makeshift crypt. Yet, the next morning, the stone has been rolled away, the ropes holding it ripped to pieces and the body missing. Stolen? Or something else?
New Zealand actor and "Fear the Walking Dead" star Cliff Curtis plays Yeshua as a pleasant but not particularly charismatic leader of the apostles, among them a wisecracking Simon (Joe Manjón), a giddy Bartholomew (Stephen Hagan, channeling Keanu Reeves from "Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure") and follower Mary Magdalene (Spanish actress Maria Botto).
They and the rest of the apostles become hunted by Clavius, desperate to locate the missing body before the emperor's upcoming visit, otherwise pugnacious Pilate will not be pleased. (Fiennes reportedly consulted with a real cop on how to conduct interrogations and searches.)
Reynolds, the erratic director of the tongue-in-cheek adventures "Waterworld" and "Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves" (both starring Kevin Costner), applies light touches to soften the darker aspects of this big-budget, PG-13-rated movie (mostly for harsh, violent battle scenes).
Simon's comic comebacks combine with writers' cleverness, demonstrated when Clavius picks up the burial garments of the vanished Yeshua and finds the Shroud of Turin as the only proof of his presence.
Reynolds then maxes out on comic content in a scene where Clavius asks his troops, who among them have seen Mary Magdalene?
Nearly all of them slowly raise their hands.
“Risen”
★ ★ ★
Starring: Joseph Fiennes, Tom Felton, Peter Firth, Cliff Curtis, Maria Botto
Directed by: Kevin Reynolds
Other: A Columbia Pictures release. Rated PG-13 for violence. 107 minutes