Movie and Christ both unfairly crucified

Rating: 10/10 (16 January 2008)

The notion that it was a huge bestseller and a stinker of a book is clearly without merit.
I had to laugh when I read the review on the title page where the critic complained that the movie followed the book too closely. Isn't the reverse the number 1 complaint on this website? That movies aren't true to the books they are based on.
The book was obviously very good based on the quality of the movie. The movie was also a hit with audiences (evidenced by ticket sales), despite the handicap of being unfairly castigated.
Howard is a good director, and his talent combined with the author's makes for a great mystery movie.
The reason this movie gets unfairly crucified is transparent. People can't handle the controversial story-line. Many of the critics are ironically intolerant because of their love for someone who suffered the ultimate intolerance. They are upset at a terrible sin: Questioning Christ's divinity. Those who are not religious dislike the movie because the very word "Christ" has become an epithet just like the word "righteous" has.
This movie is a fiction, but it touches on so many areas of non-fiction that it takes on the feel of realism. This is the movie's real sin to some. It provides a history lesson that is woven into a fictional history. But the rub is it could have an element of truth, since nobody alive today was around 2000 years ago to confirm everything that has been written.
In the end is it easier to believe that Christ was a man, with human wants and needs? Or was he a God? Regardless of which of those you believe you will be offended by this movie because it challenges your beliefs and understanding of history no matter what your beliefs are.
I think this is an excellent movie and deserves a rating much higher than 6.5.