A Disappointing Continuation

Clever, believable, and super fun to watch. It totally has replay value.

Blending excellent reporting and strong storytelling, this is a disturbing film truly stranger than fiction

Each character in this movie — down to the smallest one — is an individual rather than a type, prone to spontaneous changes of mood and sometimes amusing outbursts of pettiness or ill humor.

The life of Martin Luther, examined in this film, presents a man that started out his life by being a devout catholic. He even became an Agustinian monk, following his desire to be a better man. His faith was tested as he went to Rome. There, Martin experienced a world in which there was corruption and the men that called themselves followers of the doctrine, did not hesitate to break the precepts that were the basis of their religion. That experience, set Luther on the road that led to his eventual break with the church which he vowed to serve.In attending the university, Luther became aware of other way of thinking. Having seen first hand the way Rome conducted business, as the ambitious Pope Leo X, the ruler of the church wanted to build, what would later become, St. Peter's basilica, as a monument to his reign, to be financed by the selling of special indulgences, a sort of panacea that would benefit the ones buying them.Luther's rebellion came about when he started questioning things that up to that point, no one had dared to ask. Thus, he was deemed a heretic because he wanted to simplify things and worst of all, he decided to translate from the Greek the sacred scriptures that up to that time was only the domain of an inner group of Roman higher ups."Luther" is not a great film. It plays like a documentary by stating highlights in the life of Martin Luther. The film, directed by Eric Till, and written by Bart Gavigan and Camille Thomasson, is based loosely on the play by John Osborne. Of course, this is a re-imagination of a piece of history. How accurate it is, we have no idea. This is the kind of international co-production where the cast includes the basic English actors in the main roles, but there are different accents, depending on the nationality of the actor.Joseph Fiennes in the title role shows an inspired Luther. Others in the large cast include the excellent Bruno Ganz, Alfred Molina, Sir Peter Ustinov making his last appearance in a theatrical movie, and others. The film was splendidly photographed by Robert Fraisse, whose camera takes us to some breathtaking locales that span from Germany, to the Czech Republic and Italy. Our only objection was the Richard Harvey music score that has a way to interfere with the action.

I'm a bit of a history geek so I try to watch most of the movies that are set in a historical setting. Luther was, in the lack of a better word, interesting.There's some fine camera work, acting,the works but it just can't get top marks. It was too modern. Dialogues, interactions, it's too much 20th century. Luther speaks like a modern professor at the university, his students look like a bunch of twenty year olds who can't keep attention during class because they think where they will go out Friday night and so on. You just can't get immersed in the movie because of that.All in all, it's worth watching, but don't expect a masterpiece. 6/10*

The scene from this film that stands out in my mind the most is in which Martin Luther, a sixteenth century monk with distinctively indignant features climbs the steps of the local Catholic parish church and nails an extensive list of written ecclesiastical abuses to its massive oaken doors. Joseph Fiennes portrays Luther, a searching, grave man, seeking answers in a hurting, yet corrupted world. The Roman Catholic Church, the very definition of Christianity of the day, holds sway over all of Europe through Pope Leo X (Uwe Ochsenknecht), the shadowy head of the Church. The Pope's agents are collecting money from the common people, telling them that they are buying their own salvation, while in reality they are funding the furthering the construction of the Vatican.Discovering the corruption in the Church while on a pilgrimage to Rome, Luther labors to Reform the Church. He speaks out against papal authority and proclaims salvation through faith in Jesus Christ. Luther's enemies are many. Charles V, Emperor of the Holy Roman Empire (Torben Liebrecht) seeks to silence the Reformer, with the aide of the manipulative cardinal Alaender (Jonathan Firth). Eventually, Martin Luther appears before the Emperor himself, on the grounds he must recant his work and ultimately the truth of the Gospel, or die. "Luther" (2003) is an awe-inspiring, moving film. It tells the true story of Martin Luther, who was not only perhaps the greatest Protestant theologian but also one of the most courageous Christians of all time. The acting is sincere, the characters are believable and the overall message is deep. A highly recommended film to all who search for the truth.

Not a great film by any stretch of the imagination but it has it's worth. Joesph Fiennes stars as Martin Luther, a man who would shape the history of Europe.The problem I found with Luther is it's representation of Catholics. They are portrayed as villains, when they were just conservative and would not bend. Luther was a man ahead of his time and portraying the Catholics as cut out villains eventually weakens Luther's character. Luther was a visionary and when you put him next to stereotypical villains, the story becomes good vs evil, instead of an inspiring film which it should be.Fiennes' portrayal of Luther is worthy but the script doesn't give the character any depth. You get the traditional reasons for why he posted his 95 theses but we don't see why these things bother him so much. The movie doesn't go into why he was such a great leader.An old and frail Peter Ustinov gives a sad performance as Frederick the Wise. We know death is looming over him.Overall the film seemed very low key to me. The set design and visuals aren't impressive. The cinematography is poor and overall it has a direct to video feel.I recommend Luther for Fiennes and not much else