Wicked and disappointed

[Carborendum]

I found this review of The King of Kings to be rather ironic.

Quote

 The film is criticized for being visually generic and heavy-handed, falling into the trap of prioritizing message over artistry and entertainment value. The review suggests that the film lacks the creativity and depth seen in other biblical animated features.

 -- Variety

Uh-huh.  Just like all the woke nonesense that they've shoved down the throats of millions of moviegoers over the past 10+ years.

NOTE: I have not yet seen the movie.  My wife and I are thinking about seeing it for date night tomorrow.  But with a religious movie, yes, we hope that the message is the primary goal.  But, yes, we'd like it to be entertaining as well.  

A religious film to be heavy handed in its messaging is kinda the point.  Wokeness has no such excuse.

Maybe the film is entertaining, maybe not.  I'll report after I've seen it.

[NeuroTypical]

Entertainment value vs sending a message are often in conflict in film.  Keep your dang woke out of my Star Trek, and keep your dang entertainment fluff out of my movie about the life of Jesus!   

In related news, Rick and Morty is a horrible series that does far more harm than good and you shouldn't watch it.   That said, the show gave the best portrayal of this topic I've ever seen.   Rick and Morty were trapped on a "story train" by their nemesis StoryLord, who runs off the power derived by the various narratives played out in each car.    They escape by falling to their knees and pretending to be converted to Christianity, which causes StoryLord's narrative machine to break under the weight of such an "awful" story.  

[Carborendum]

28 minutes ago, NeuroTypical said:

Entertainment value vs sending a message are often in conflict in film.  Keep your dang woke out of my Star Trek, and keep your dang entertainment fluff out of my movie about the life of Jesus!   

I dunno.  I still laugh when I think of the line:

"How is this only the second most incredible thing I've seen today?"

28 minutes ago, NeuroTypical said:

In related news, Rick and Morty is a horrible series that does far more harm than good and you shouldn't watch it. 

...I've ever seen.   

Uhmm... yeah...

That explains a lot.

[Vort]

44 minutes ago, NeuroTypical said:

Keep your dang woke out of my Star Trek, and keep your dang entertainment fluff out of my movie about the life of Jesus!   

Sadly, Star Trek is and always has been steeped in woke. You could ignore in the original series, but since NG it's always front and center.

[Vort]

On 4/10/2025 at 3:59 PM, NeuroTypical said:

On 4/10/2025 at 1:06 PM, LDSGator said:

Did anyone who had a bad high school experience have a good college experience? That happened to me. I went to a small, Catholic college for two years and was miserable. Then I transferred to UNH and absolutely loved it. Graduated with honors too. 

Yes indeed - that was my story.  After High School, it's like all those horrible people just disappeared out of my life permanently, and I was suddenly surrounded by a smarter higher caliber of human, and the 'rule of the jungle/survival of the fittest' crap seemed to be a thing of the past. 

When I left hell, uh, high school, I worked over the summer until November and then started at BYU mid-semester. It was as if I had died and gone to heaven. My love for Utah began at that moment and increased in the following years. Still hasn't left me.

[LDSGator]

3 minutes ago, Vort said:

er. It was as if I had died and gone to heaven.

I totally understand. When I finally got to UNH I felt like Dorothy seeing Oz for the first time. Everything was in color. It’s the same feeling I got when I moved down south. 

Edited April 18 by LDSGator

[Ironhold]

6 hours ago, Vort said:

Sadly, Star Trek is and always has been steeped in woke. You could ignore in the original series, but since NG it's always front and center.

The big issue with much of modern entertainment, not just Trek, is that today's writers all too often don't have the deft touch that past generations of writers had. 

Look at TOS, TNG, and DS9. They understood when to make a point and when to just let the audience enjoy their space adventure. 

Same thing with the original Twilight Zone, classic Doctor Who, and so many other shows from back in the day. 

Now consider today's entertainment. 

Not only is the "message" front and center, it's about as subtle as a daisy cutter and typically delivered with far less precision. For example, this past Tuesday's episode of "FBI" ended with a female character boldly and disgustedly declaring that "incels" could simply choose to get over themselves & change, never mind the fact that a lot of people who that slur could be applied to are in fact dealing with mental health issues, social isolation, "othering", or other matters that are beyond their control to some degree and that their personal life is a mess despite their best efforts. 

Right now, audiences are voting with their wallets. This is how films like "Minecraft", "A Working Man", and "King of Kings" are making bank while Hollywood darlings like "Snow White" are roadkill, or why we have indie comic crowdfunding campaigns clearing $100K but mainstream comics helmed by brand-name characters are only clearing a fraction of that. People are sick of what's coming out, but the mainstream industry is absolutely refusing to learn why. 

[Carborendum]

Here's my review of "The King of Kings":

First, we must acknowledge that this was an adaptation of a Dickens children's book "The Life of Our Lord".  So, it is unfair to use the same rubrik as big film adaptations (e.g. The Greatest Story Ever Told).

Second, if you're looking for strict scriptural accuracy, don't bother.  It's supposed to be an entertaining story written by someone wanting to inspire a desire to learn more.  It was not meant to teach all doctrine and bring all interpretations and meanings to the fore.

I'd say that it was written as a telling of common Christian narrative, rather than a scriptural narrative.  I noticed several common myths about the life of Jesus which reflect the common knowledge of Christians who "know the story" but have never actually read the scriptures.

Third, it was really meant for children between 5 andd 10 years old.   It is wonderful film for kids.  As an adult, I was only mildly entertained by it.  I saw the cat as comic relief.  But I was more annoyed than amused.  Kids would have found him entertaining and cute.

Overall, it was a good family movie.  It told the important parts of the story to "get people interested."  I can't really grade it on doctrine or spirituality.  That is obviously not what it was going for.  It was really for children to get excited about the life of Jesus.  And it did a good job of doing that.

While I didn't consider the cost of two tickets a complete waste, I'm probably not going to see it again.  And the only reason I might want to buy a copy is to show my grandchildren when they are in primary.