Lack of good storyline.

A Brilliant Conflict

Clever and entertaining enough to recommend even to members of the 1%

This is a dark and sometimes deeply uncomfortable drama

Movie takes a very Catholic view of John of Patmos, in that he is portrayed as the Apostle who witnessed the Crucifixion, when in fact no such hard link has ever been presented...most scholars place the writing of Revelation around 85-90 AD, almost sixty years after the crucifixion. While possible, John would have been close to 100 years old at the time of the writings...having said that, this version of the film must have been edited, because it shows scenes from 9/11 and the attack on the Twin Towers, or at least in the version I watched...which would be a mean trick, as that attack occurred two years after this movie was filmed...minor point, and there may be a number of releases...a solid telling of one of the most moving Bible stories, and one of the most vivid as well. Told, or rather shown, in a fashion that makes sense and semblance of a very cryptic writing...well done...a fitting work to end a brilliant career...

I write this commentary with standard copy of the Holy Bible by my side not because I distrust the Movie which has many Bible Advisors in making, but for sake of corroboration which is essence of life today - cf., "The Apocalypsis Revelation" (2002). I am an end-user myself, neither working for the Cinema Business nor for some Church Society. My experience by now show me that religion in 21st century shall continue to play important role both as a Statecraft and Community-Family institutional matter.Watching this movie I disbelieve many of the things presented as such pertaining to 1st century A.D. when Christianity was thriving to establish itself as a Cult vs. Emperor Domitian being a God. Times were sore for the Gentiles in those days and the visions of St. John (last of Jesus Christ's Apostles) were reflecting their inanimate fight for survival. John fled from the penal colony of Patmos (island in the Aegean) and went to Ephesus where he wrote the last chapter of the Bible before dying in 90 A.D. Christianity didn't perish, the Bible became most read book for all times and we Christians should read it from time-to-time although not necessarily believing in every word of it. Moreover, new communities of converts in Christianity are appearing as of modern times which should be encouraged to believe in God as common parlance. Otherwise Morality is gone, we should resolve to War.Richard Harris (1930-2002) in his last role deserves commemoration. I always wanted to say few words about him and a handful of other British actors that made Film Industry in the 20th century something big. They were Gods for our young generation and now when we in turn are becoming old, it's relevant to pay humble tribute. I liked every movie of that Actor, not standing lower than Marlon Brando for any particular reason. Strongest are his appearances in the 1970s and 1980s when crack movies manifested, such as "Man Called Horse" (1970), "Man in the Wilderness" (1971), "99 and 44/100% Dead" (1974), "Cassandra Crossing" (1976), "Orca" (1977), "Wild Geese" (1978), etc. Particularly striking is the last scene from "Wild Geese" when wounded Harris couldn't overcome the pursuing enemy and cries to Richard Burton in taxiing plane - "Shoot me damn it, I'm ill!" Still haven't watched all the Movies from Harris' collection yet.Finally, I have prepared some notes on the Apocalypse (Revelation to John) as given in the Bible and want to share them with the reading list. Albeit, the Movie interpretation is abridged, nevertheless, remains the fullest record of events narrated in this vision. I checked also works of Art (frescoes, icons, paintings) that have endeavored to present fragments from Biblical Revelation. Those are numerous items under the title "Antiquities" whose owners or galleries don't even know what is the story about. Now shameful as it is, we shouldn't hallucinate as the Elder St. John. I would recommend to anyone interested in reading to consult the Encyclopedia of Biblical Scriptures (from Jehovah Witnesses). Best presentation. Amen!

While banished to the island of Patmos, "St. John" (played by Richard Harris) receives visions from the Lord which results in his writing the "Book of Revelation". However, this is not a movie about "the Apocalypse". Rather, this film is more about his life on Patmos and his visions than anything else. I say this for several reasons. First, the event called "the Apocalypse" isn't constrained to just the "Book of Revelation". The fact is that much of what we know about this subject also comes from the "Book of Daniel" and the "Gospel of Matthew" along with various passages from other books in the Bible as well. Because of this, there were many passages about the Apocalypse which were left out of the film. Along with that, those passages that were included weren't explained well at all. Further, like so many other Biblical movies, there are some non-Biblical elements thrown in for dramatic effect. In this particular case it involves a beautiful Christian woman named "Irene" (Vittoria Belvedere) and a Roman spy by the name of "Valerius" (Benjamin Sadler). So basically, if you're looking for a film about the Apocalypse then it might be better to look elsewhere. However, thanks to a very fine performance by Richard Harris, this movie is still somewhat enjoyable all the same and can safely be recommended to anybody of any faith. That said, I rate it as slightly above average.

Richard Harris's moving performance is the centerpiece of this film, in which members of the early church, struggling for faith and reassurance in the face of violent persecution, are searching for John the Beloved, last of the living apostles, who is "hiding in plain sight" on the prison island of Patmos. However, don't ignore some very good performances by several of the others. The visions of John are depicted judiciously, considering the CGI available in 2000 and the budget (that is, they don't scream "made-for-TV"); the montages do not try to show every detail but give a general idea of the visions. To watch this is a good adjunct to reading Revelation, to remind one that these fantastic visions came to a real person in a very chaotic time.