Review Summary: A gripping, emotional and surprising win.
Sony has been on quite a roll with faith-based films over the past few years. The quality has gotten even more and more impressive. And in a year that already has had the fantastic I Can Only Imagine, the bar has been raised. I admit I went into Paul with muted expectations. Maybe I didn't think the trailers promised anything special.
But, I have to say, I'm not convinced this film was made for just a low budget (the report is that it was $5 million). Paul, Apostle of Christ perhaps feels like the most "big-budget" Christian movie made to date. The cinematic values are outstanding. From the practical effects to the production design to the use of different cinematography techniques, its' quite an accomplished production.
The film also gives a nice balance between the present story of Christian persecution and a handful of flashbacks to Paul's earlier life. Speaking of Paul, he's excellently portrayed by James Faulkner (who has appeared in Downton Abbey and Game of Thrones). From quoting some of his most famous lines in Scripture to sharing a heart-to-heart conversation, he exudes sincerity. Jim Caviezel is almost equally as great as the Gospel writer Luke, providing a voice of reason to the film's other storyline and providing a nice, subtle counterpart to Faulkner's more passionate character.
Jan A.P. Kaczmarek gives the film a score that rivals bigger budget films as well, providing a strong undercurrent to the film's more interesting and more subtle scenes. The film balances quite a few cinematic techniques impressively well. From a darker prison setting, to the slow motion flashbacks and dream sequences, it all meshes together and works. The story does move slow in places and it starts off on a relatively downbeat note. But it gets better and more impressive as it goes along.
Speaking of which, some have criticized the film for being too dark and depressing. And it can be an uneasy experience at times. But the film does include glimmers of hope here and there, illustrating the powerful message that God remains in control even in our darkest hours. If anything, the film could have used a few moments of humor to help digest the film's most saddening moments. There is one quick scene of humorous dialogue mid-way through the movie that works pretty well and doesn't overstay it's welcome. I wish we had gotten a little more of that to be honest.
I'm also pleased to report that the film hardly ever strays from the Biblical account. Now, I'm not exactly certain if Luke wrote down Paul's words right before he was supposedly martyred (the Bible doesn't exactly say so either). But Paul's flashback events all mirror what happened in Scripture (not to mention the film also uses the true-to-Scripture characters Aquila and Priscilla in major supporting roles here). Paul's missionary journeys aren't mentioned, but understandingly so (the setting being in Rome, leaving Rome might would have made for a more confusing film).
The only subplot that feels a little under-cooked is the subplot involving the Roman Prefect (played by Oliver Martinez). It takes a couple of conversational scenes with another guard (which at first sounded like Caviezel in disguise to me for some reason) before we get a grasp of his purpose in the overall movie. But, how this subplot concludes provides one of the "glimmers of hope" I mentioned earlier. In the meantime, I thought it was very odd to hear Luke use a few uses of mild language. It felt incredibly out of place for the place in history, not to mention that its unnecessary in the first place.
Despite somewhat of a big-budget feel, Paul is much more of an up-close and personal character study. For those that don't know Paul heading into this movie, we get to know him and see his incredible redemption story. And by the film's end, we see a powerful completion to his story with an added message of forgiveness to boot. The film's ending sequence might be one of the best endings I've seen in a long time.
Paul is, overall, another major success for a faith-based film. It's a Biblical drama and adaptation at its' finest. Some truly depressing moments and a lack of real comedy relief keep it from joining the ranks of the best faith-based films for me. But, that doesn't rob it of any of its real impressive merits.
My Score: 8.6/10
Content Concerns for Family Viewing: Paul, Apostle of Christ is rated PG-13 for "some violent content and disturbing images." Be warned, this is not an appropriate film for families with children under the age of 13. The ideas of Christian persecution and death will definitely be too much for younger ones. We see Christians being splashed in oil and lit up on fire (we see bodies in flames at the beginning of the film, someone else screams as he's lit on fire below screen). People are beaten and thrashed (either in blurry vision or off-screen), and we see some bloody scars on Paul's back. A young boy is killed (he is brought in bloodied). Someone else comes in with blood on her, describing how her family was killed. We see the apostle Stephen being martyred in flashback (blood is dripping down his forehead). We also see people killed in slow motion by Paul during his days as a persecutor (the flashback also shows him having blood on his hands repeatedly at least three times). Nero's "circus" is talked about a handful of times, and we see Christians walking into an open door about to face their cruel end (we, of course, do not see the circus, we only hear loud cheers from supposed spectators). A roman soldier is killed once by a sword (effects off-screen). Someone is beheaded (below the frame). Someone's chest is surgically cut into (below the frame), and we hear the girl screaming from the procedure.
Luke uses "My g--!" three or four times, and also uses the term "h---hole" to describe prison. Roman idolatry apparently involves someone pouring animal blood on them as a ritual in one particular scene. Christians are falsely accused of lighting a town on fire by Emperor Nero. Characters attempt to take over the city by "repaying evil for evil", but they are not looked upon positively for this action.
