Son of God
Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation | Release Date: February 28, 2014 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
37
METASCORE
Generally unfavorable reviews based on 25 Critic Reviews
Positive:
2
Mixed:
15
Negative:
8
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Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
75
Tampa Bay TimesSteve PersallFeb 27, 2014
It's a capable Sunday school lesson with little for anyone to challenge and practically nothing that offends. Read full review
63
McClatchy-Tribune News ServiceRoger MooreFeb 26, 2014
Unlike “The Passion of the Christ,” there’s no Aramaic with English subtitles, a lot less blood and no anti-Semitism. No character feels like a caricature... But it’s also dramatically flat, with few actors making much of an impression as they play saints and sinners. Read full review
58
Entertainment WeeklyStephan LeeFeb 28, 2014
At best, this version succeeds as a Sunday school supplement. But the blandness is enough to make you long for Mel Gibson's "The Passion of the Christ." Read full review
50
RogerEbert.comSheila O'MalleyFeb 28, 2014
Son of God's earnest-ness is not necessarily a strike against it; it was made by earnest people who want to spread the word. But it's a tough draught to swallow if you're not in the mood for a sermon. Read full review
50
The Globe and Mail (Toronto)Geoff PevereFeb 27, 2014
So yes, if you’ve seen "The Bible," you’ve already seen most of Son of God – but if there’s one story where spoilers just don’t apply, it’s the Greatest One Ever Told. Read full review
50
The A.V. ClubBen KenigsbergFeb 27, 2014
It’s hard to think of another movie in which Jesus’ followers are so clearly shown as Jews themselves. There’s a quietly powerful post-Crucifixion scene in which the disciples say Kaddish for their fallen leader. Read full review
50
San Francisco ChroniclePeter HartlaubFeb 27, 2014
The film does thoroughly succeed in one important regard: offering a coherent, viewer-friendly account of the life of Jesus Christ. Read full review
50
USA TodayClaudia PuigFeb 27, 2014
It's undoubtedly a daunting role, and Morgado captures the gentle benevolence associated with the messianic figure. He doesn't, however, project the authority, gravitas or depth of a spiritual leader. Read full review
50
The Hollywood ReporterTodd McCarthyFeb 27, 2014
This quite mediocre spawned-from-television feature feels like a Jesus film designed primarily for true believers, meaning that the faith-based public that has already been put on alert by seal-of-approval-dispensing church leaders that this is a film to see will make the Fox release into a significant Heartland attraction. Read full review
50
Boston GlobePeter KeoughFeb 27, 2014
For the most part, though, the film maintains its low ambitions; it is mostly inoffensive, only occasionally ludicrous, and at times, at least for me, genuinely moving. Read full review
50
New York Daily NewsElizabeth WeitzmanFeb 27, 2014
Director Christopher Spencer’s biblical yarn lacks the complex rigor of Martin Scorsese’s “The Last Temptation of Christ” and the fury of Mel Gibson’s “The Passion of the Christ,” leaving its star, Diogo Morgado, stuck in a film that’s stiff and earnest. Read full review
50
Arizona RepublicBill GoodykoontzFeb 27, 2014
This is a rich, and important story. There’s no argument there. The only problem with “Son of God” is that there are much more compelling ways to tell it. Read full review
50
New York PostKyle SmithFeb 26, 2014
Son of God is guilty of all the sins of the 1950s Bible epics, but without any of the majesty. Read full review
42
HitfixDrew McWeenyApr 18, 2014
There is nothing in this version that make any of this feel urgent or even important. Read full review
40
New York Magazine (Vulture)Bilge EbiriMar 3, 2014
Their movie has its moments, to be sure, and the target evangelical audience may well respond enthusiastically, but, unless your own salvation is riding on it, the film is mostly a slog. Read full review
40
Los Angeles TimesMartin TsaiFeb 27, 2014
If "The Bible" was CliffsNotes for the Scriptures, Son of God is the cheat sheet. The two-hour film condenses about four hours of what already was hasty television, and it all winds up a little dramatically static. Read full review
40
VarietyJustin ChangFeb 27, 2014
A clumsily edited feature-length version of five episodes from History’s hugely popular 10-hour miniseries “The Bible,” this stiff, earnest production plays like a half-hearted throwback to the British-accented biblical dramas of yesteryear, its smallscreen genesis all too apparent in its Swiss-cheese construction and subpar production values. Read full review
38
Chicago Sun-TimesRichard RoeperFeb 27, 2014
It is the story of the faith in which I was raised, and it is a story told here with great reverence and extremely faithful renditions of scenes from the New Testament. But, alas, it’s not a good movie. Read full review
37
Washington PostAnn HornadayFeb 27, 2014
Don’t expect to see a great film, or even a very good one. Whether you discover a meaningful channel with which to continue your walk with the film’s protagonist, however, is strictly between you and your god. Read full review
30
The New York TimesNicolas RapoldFeb 27, 2014
Son of God may have hit the mark if part of the goal was to create a portrait flat enough to allow audience members to project their own feelings onto the screen. Read full review
30
The DissolveKeith PhippsFeb 26, 2014
Excerpted from The History Channel’s 10-part 2013 miniseries The Bible, then given extra footage, Son Of God boils the life of Jesus down to feature-length, but it plays less like a movie than a hastily edited attempt to explore a new revenue stream. Read full review
20
Austin ChronicleLouis BlackMar 5, 2014
Not to be glib but, obviously, believers will feel reaffirmed, and those looking to again enjoy and be enriched by the miraculous life and greatest sacrifice of Jesus will be rewarded. More casual viewers will find themselves glazing over from the obviousness of it all. Read full review
20
Village VoiceAlan ScherstuhlFeb 27, 2014
Son of God is a narrative shambles, more thudding than thunderous, shot with no spirit or distinction, always feeling like a sprawling TV miniseries cut up to fit into theatrical running time. Read full review
20
Film.comJordan HoffmanFeb 27, 2014
For a movie with the ostensible mission of spreading the Gospel, it does a poor job of speaking to anyone except the faithful. Read full review
12
Slant MagazineAbhimanyu DasFeb 27, 2014
The film plays for much of its length like a terrible sketch comedy with one-dimensional caricatures shuffling listlessly through a succession of stilted tableaux. Read full review
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