National Geographic's Killing Jesus movie has just made its premiere on Palm Sunday, and viewers have noticed that their physical portrayal of Jesus Christ is far different from what audiences expected to see.
"We wanted to go for a muscular Jesus, someone who was in a way a sort of a rock star in his time," director Chris Menaul told The Christian Post. They chose Lebanese actor Haaz Sleiman to portray Jesus, and Menaul said that they are really happy with the results.
One particular scene in the film that Menaul loves is Jesus' Triumphal Entry, where he rode a donkey and was greeted by hordes of excited people. "That's what we've gone for, a muscular Jesus with a lot of energy," Menaul added.
The Killing Jesus film is based on the 2013 bestselling book by authors Bill O'Reilly and Martin Dugar, the duo who also wrote Killing Kennedy and Killing Lincoln. O'Reilly said that their interpretation of the life and times of Christ is purely historical, which might disappoint their Christian viewers.
Christian blogger and book reviewer Tim Challies wrote that Killing Jesus "is not a bad book as much as it is an incomplete book." He slammed the writers for failing to address the "spiritual significance ... (of) the life and death of Jesus Christ."
The same treatment was given to the film, and Christ was portrayed more as a man than a spiritual divinity. "I hope we've kept that element of doubt, because otherwise he's not human," Menaul explained. "So I hope a Christian audience will relate to that because it's very human."
He added that they did not have Christ walking on water, nor did they have Him raising petrifying bodies from the dead. "We don't go down that road," said the director. "But I hope we show how his kind of charisma, if you like, and his ability to heal people and to connect with them became by word of mouth magnified."
