Cringe Factor: 2
Starring: John O'Banion (Jesse), Ramy Zada (Jude), Richard Herd (Cunningham), Jeff Corey (Ponerous)
Director: James H. Barden
Synopsis: Essentially a contemporary retelling of Jesus' ministry. Jude is fascinated by and eventually joins Jesse's movement, only to betray him to powerful men who either want Jesse to unite with them or be otherwise eliminated. You can probably guess how it all turns out (although there is some stuff in the ending that I never saw coming).
Here's what the DVD looks like.
Misleading, if you ask me. There
isn't a single skyscraper in the
whole movie!
Review: One thing I can say for this one is that it does have production values. There were Oscar winners working on this one! The script was also pretty decent in the first half of the movie and the actors did a good job with what they were given. The crucifixion of Jesse was also suprisingly decent. Both well acted and well crafted, the nail and blood effects were nearly comparable with "The Passion of the Christ" in sheer emotional impact.
However, "The Judas Project" fails to accurately convey the scope of Christ's ministry as well as the circumstances surrounding his execution. There are also far too many longing glances and gentle caresses exchanged between Jesse and his followers. Also, the pace really drags and it's mostly talk, which gives it a kinda 1970's feel. Jesse's purpose is not very clearly explained, so the non-churched may have trouble figuring out why they should be so concerned about a (possibly gay) guy who hangs out on the beach and talks in Biblese.
