Stories About Jesus, Ranked

by Joal Ryan, for Metacritic – November 18, 2016

Cinema has been telling the story of Jesus since the 19th century. Spurred in part by the blockbuster success of The Passion of the Christ, the tradition is as strong as ever.

Here's a look at present-day films and TV features, released from 2000 to today, that have featured Jesus as a character. Using Metacritic data, we've ranked them from least to most critically acclaimed.

10 of 14 photo by National Geographic Channel

53 Killing Jesus

This 2015 TV miniseries, starring Haaz Sleiman as Jesus, was based on the Bill O'Reilly co-authored book of the same name. Critics found its retelling of the events leading up to Jesus' death "alternately clumsy and eloquent."

“As ham-fisted as the filmmaking is, the anticipated finale is gritty, convincing and moving.” —David Wiegand, San Francisco Chronicle

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