Rating: 
Summary: Superb, engaging religious film...
Review: I never would have expected to find such a deep message about faith in such a secular movie, but The Body was better than I heard it was. The movie is about an Israeli archaeologist who believes she has found the body of Christ hidden in an ancient secret tomb behind a rich man's tomb, her theory being that the disciples hid the body in the secret tomb and continued to proclaim that Christ rose from the dead. Antonio Banderas plays a Catholic priest sent by the Vatican to prove that it isn't Christ's body. And this movie has a lot. It goes deep into the attention to the details of Christ's death as recorded in the gospels. It touches on the Shroud of Turin. It explains various archaeological methods of dating. It has characters from Christian, Jewish, and Islamic backgrounds, and it deals with the questions of religion v. politics v. science as well as faith v. evidence, and also, was Christ only a good man and a good teacher, or was He God? Is that important? Plus, it's got a good deal of modern Hebrew in it (being a student of modern Hebrew, that got me really excited). The heated discussions between Catholic Antonio Banderas and his agnostic archaeologist counterpart are engaging, and I found myself enjoying his "subtle style of Jesuitical debate." But what impressed me most was that this movie could say so many nice things about Jesus. I thought that Hollywood wouldn't let the J-word onto the big screen unless it was to take it in vain, but this movie goes against that trend. If I have one fault to pick with this movie, it's that, in the end, it doesn't offer a very favorable portrayal of the Catholic church, and I'm quite tired of seeing Catholics portrayed as the bad guys. Still, this movie has enough originality and intrigue about it to warrant five stars. If discussing religious philosophy is something you like to do, buy this movie.
Rating: 
Summary: Thought provoking, intense movie.
Review: I rented this movie because Antonio Banderas played the lead male character. I was basically expecting another movie on the level of The Mask of Zorro or The Thirteenth Warrior. What I didn't expect was the intensity to which I would be glued to the t.v. set. Especially since he was not portrayed as a sexy leading man figure. I was blown away by the story line and the performances by all the actors involved. The political and religious views were very well expressed and came across in such a way to really make you stop and think about the world wide repercussions that could develop should such an event occur. I personally stayed on the edge of my seat until the very end of this movie. I recommend it to anyone not looking for a mindless, pretty faced, lovey dovey flick. It is one that you will find worthy to tell your friends about.
Rating:
Summary: A BODY IN GOD'S CLOSET
Review: I rented this movie today and after I watched it, I thought it could have been made better even though the movie itself was great. The movie credits Jonas McCord for writing and directing this movie, but "Body" has the same premise as a book I read in 1994 titled "A Skeleton in God's Closet" by Paul L. Maier. When I first read it, I could not put it down. I still own that book and I know it's much better than the movie "Body". To understand my point, you have to read "A Skeleton in God's Closet" for yourself
Rating:
Summary: Is Jesus Christ???
Review: I saw this movie a week a go and I think its a great movie because if you are a catholic it could confuse you and also you start to think what would happen if Jesus do not resurrected. You can see in this movie how a priest lose his faith in Jesus.
Rating:
Summary: I agree... but am awaiting the soundtrack
Review: I think the other reviewers did a good job - I tend to agree. A 'what if' type story that makes you wonder -- not a 5 star but not cheezy or dis-interesting. Filmed well. What I want to know is WHEN will the SOUND TRACK be available? From what I remember it was good! :-)
Rating: 
Summary: The Body never rises to its potential.
Review: I was drawn to this film by its interesting "What If" premise. Banderas plays a Jesuit priest comissioned by the Vatican to debunk the possibility that the body of Christ has been found in an excavated tomb in Jerusalem, the validity of which could obviously be disasterous to the Church if it is proved that the Resurrection was just a myth as suggested by the skeletal remains indicating that Jesus was merely just a man. With this kind of theological dillema, the plot sets up a great conflict not only for Banderas as Father Matt Gutierrez who struggles against his faith from the subjective truth that could be revealed, but the implication it will have for Israel between the Christians, the Jews, and the Moslems all fighting for control of the Holy Land. Unfortunately, as is the case with just about any film that touches on religious subject matter, it never has a chance to to answer any of the big questions it asks from the start. By the time the film ends, we know nothing more about "Dem Bones" then we did from the beginning (Alpha and Omega) which can lead one to draw their only conclusions or beliefs about the validity of The Body, but what more could you really be expecting... the Second Coming? The problem with religious films is that they usually try to lure you into the theater under false pretense with the dramatic premise, then try to beat you over the head with a proverbial Bible to convert the audience to their ideology (i.e. The Judas Project and The Omega Code). Fortunately, this is not the case with The Body. The film's mediocrity is probably attributed mostly to its low-budget feel and production value. I was excited to see Vilmos Zsigmond credited as the Director of Photography but completely forget about him while watching the film. I was disappointed because a cinematographer of his repertoire (Close Encounters, Deliverance) could have given this film just the atmospheric lift it needed in support of the dramatic subject. Gladiator alumns, Derek Jacobi and John Schrapnel are aptly cast in supporting roles reminiscent of their conspiring Roman Senators Gracchus and Gaius from Gladiator. Even with a star like Banderas attached, you can tell that no studio wanted to touch this and it is evident from the lack of theatrical distribution and marketing support for the film. The Body came and went in theaters and no one ever knew or will probably ever care. Perhaps that, in itself, is a bigger statement about society's genuine interest in religious hypothesis.
Rating:
Summary: The Body never rises to its potential.
Review: I was drawn to this film by its interesting "What If" premise. Banderas plays a Jesuit priest comissioned by the Vatican to debunk the possibility that the body of Christ has been found in an excavated tomb in Jerusalem, the validity of which could obviously be disasterous to the Church if it is proved that the Resurrection was just a myth as suggested by the skeletal remains indicating that Jesus was merely just a man. With this kind of theological dillema, the plot sets up a great conflict not only for Banderas as Father Matt Gutierrez who struggles against his faith from the subjective truth that could be revealed, but the implication it will have for Israel between the Christians, the Jews, and the Moslems all fighting for control of the Holy Land. Unfortunately, as is the case with just about any film that touches on religious subject matter, it never has a chance to to answer any of the big questions it asks from the start. By the time the film ends, we know nothing more about "Dem Bones" then we did from the beginning (Alpha and Omega) which can lead one to draw their only conclusions or beliefs about the validity of The Body, but what more could you really be expecting... the Second Coming? The problem with religious films is that they usually try to lure you into the theater under false pretense with the dramatic premise, then try to beat you over the head with a proverbial Bible to convert the audience to their ideology (i.e. The Judas Project and The Omega Code). Fortunately, this is not the case with The Body. The film's mediocrity is probably attributed mostly to its low-budget feel and production value. I was excited to see Vilmos Zsigmond credited as the Director of Photography but completely forget about him while watching the film. I was disappointed because a cinematographer of his repertoire (Close Encounters, Deliverance) could have given this film just the atmospheric lift it needed in support of the dramatic subject. Gladiator alumns, Derek Jacobi and John Schrapnel are aptly cast in supporting roles reminiscent of their conspiring Roman Senators Gracchus and Gaius from Gladiator. Even with a star like Banderas attached, you can tell that no studio wanted to touch this and it is evident from the lack of theatrical distribution and marketing support for the film. The Body came and went in theaters and no one ever knew or will probably ever care. Perhaps that, in itself, is a bigger statement about society's genuine interest in religious hypothesis.
Rating:
Summary: Thought Provoking...
Review: I watched this film at my college's Campus Ministry movie night. I found it to be an intense, suspenseful movie, with a setting that I always find fascinating, and great acting by Antonio Banderas. Being Christians, and our group interdenominational, we had some great discussion about the definition and nature of Faith after the film. I think, for the most part, the film depicted Christians respectfully (which is usually most lacking in Hollywood), and that is one feature I appreciated about it.
In all, I would recommend this movie to anyone...especially people who like suspense, action, and non-sappy movies (me, for the most-part, I still can't believe that Titanic was nominated for even 1 Oscar.)
Rating:
Summary: CRISP FILM ABOUT FAITH & SCIENCE
Review: I'd take issue with the reviewers here who have said that The Body was just a fuzzy muddle of religion and theology. There is nothing quite shimmering about any ONE element of the movie, not Banderas, not Olivia Williams. It is the whole premise, and the thought-provoking + sensibly handled storyline that carries the movie. It is not a doozy spin. Everything from archaelogical science to the Gospels to the Bible to Talmud (Orthodox) makes into the intelligent dialog, and there are points where you can savor some pithy but patient debate. At one point in the movie, a publisher of a theological journal says "Religion is not based on a rational system of facts. It is driven by human needs." Such is unfortunately the nature of the beast, this is why movies with textured topical themes (such as The Life of David Gale) do not ring at the boxoffice. It is easy to see why this did not do well with ordinary international audiences -- it braces difficult questions. To add to its woes, it was released around the touchy times of 2001 when Israel/Palestine/Christianity was the last thing that the world was interested in. Overall, although the movie meanders a little in the second half, it does a fantastic job of illustrating the fear and loathing that is rife in our world today, and how very trivial some of these issues really are. Still, millions hang by these simple notions. Maybe open-mindedness is what is needed to appreciate this movie for what it was intended to be. The only minor grouse I have was the rushed, half-baked denouement. Kind of killed the beauty of the movie as a whole. Oh, and it is also an action movie. Action against breath-taking backdrops of Jerusalem. Highly recommended!
Rating:
Summary: I Was Pleasantly Surprised.
Review: It's always interesting to view a movie in which some reviewers rate it 5 stars and rave about it while others pan it with only 1 or 2. At least you know you will watching something controversial. But as a fan of Antonio Banderas I figured it was worth watching; even though, as a devout Christian, I suspected it might be just another attempt by Hollywood to attack the Christian religion indirectly with an absurd story based upon a profoundly true one.
But one of the reviewers mentioned that the ending of the movie was ambiguous so I decided that perhaps it contained some redeeming qualities after all.
You can read the other reviews for a synopsis of the plot, I won't try to repeat it again here. But I will just say that the story does have it's own special intrigue with interesting characters, fine acting, beautiful on-location cinematography, a wonderful soundtrack worth buying (if it were only available), and it was good enough that I watched it twice. What more could you ask from a movie?
It was a bit heavy-handed at times with certain situations, which I won't reveal. But the way in which the apparant discovery of the body of an un-risen Jesus was finally resolved in the conclusion of the film was a good example of a satisfactual ending for those who do believe. It is well worth watching!
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