Visual Bible - Matthew

My husband and I really enjoyed this movie! We have three different movie portrayals of Jesus Christ, which are completely consistent with their respective Gospels, and we enjoy all of them. (Read my other reviews if you're interested in them.)

The happy, laughing Jesus in this movie is intriguing. The way he speaks to people and looks at them warmly portrays his love for everyone. I think the actor really does a great job of portraying the duality of Jesus, how much he loves us, but yet that all is not hearts and flowers and warm and fuzzy due to the human condition.

If you're looking for a great movie to share with friends, family, small group, etc., this is it! Don't watch late at night because you'll want to stay awake!

i scratch my head so to speak when i read the reviews about this movie being anything less then five stars! do not listen to those reviews, THIS movie is life changing & the BEST portrayal of the Lord there is out there,

Over all, I'd give it a 6 out of 10 rating.
The two major problems -- (1) the juxtaposition of a later-day "narrator" Matthew with the actual events in the Gospel (as opposed to the vastly superior Gospel of John, where the narrator was heard, but never seen); (2) the happy-clappy, perpetually smiling and backslapping portrayal of Jesus, even when the event at hand would indicate that he was unhappy or sad or angry or frustrated or concerned. After a while, all the laughing and smiling is off-putting and totally unrealistic to any real person, even the realest of persons, i.e. Jesus. Portraying him as if he were an insincere politician or tele-evangelist (sorry if some folks actually find tele-evangelists genuine and sincere - a few are, but a few also give off the appearence of snake oil salesmen) or hippie is not a way for folks to find him appealing. He was similar to the hippie Jesus in Godspell, but in a different way, of course.

Jesus obviously had (has) a great deal of personal dynamism and charisma, but the Gospels themselves show that he was not ALWAYS laughing and smiling. I would have to rank this Jesus below that of The Passion of the Christ, Jesus of Nazareth, and Gospel of John (better than the 50s and 60s versions though).

First of all, I am seriously wondering if we are talking about the same movie here??? I have the 4-tape set, someone here has said that this is different; I don't know.

I have the Gospel of John, by the same producers, and I think it is FANTASTIC! This is why I purchased this movie, and also all the positive reviews. I know I am the only one to say this here, but I was VERY disappointed!

I found the narration (Matthew) was very dull by comparison and really not necessary; it was not 100% scripture as in the Gospel of John. I lent it to a good Christian friend of mine (who also owns the Gospel of John) and she had difficulty sitting through 30-minutes of this movie, and finally shut it off.

Also, the Jesus in this movie, to me, was WAY too laid back. I almost expected to see him pull out a joint and share it with the disciples. Again, I am comparing it to the Gospel of John, which I saw first (maybe that's the problem); the person who played Jesus in that one was a perfect fit, I thought. Not too serious yet not too laid back.

Sorry to pull this down, this is certainly not the worse Jesus film I have seen (by far), but I was VERY disappointed.

This video radically changed my faith.

I spent my entire childhood thinking that Jesus was a boring, meek and weak God. This movie took the exact words of the NIV and transformed them into a new outlook on the "humanness" of Jesus. People didn't follow a boring sulking man (who strangely didn't blink in Jesus of Nazareth), but a charasmatic and joyful man. People gravitated to him. They flocked from all over because joy radiated from him.

I have followed Bruce's career since this film and God used him in a Huge way.

If you are tired of movies that portray Jesus as meek, weak and boring, this movie is for you!