This is one of the few movies I've ever seen where the whole audience broke into spontaneous, loud applause a third of the way in.

Although I seem to have had higher expectations than I thought, the movie is super entertaining.

Through painfully honest and emotional moments, the movie becomes irresistibly relatable

Actress is magnificent and exudes a hypnotic screen presence in this affecting drama.

I wrote a review of this movie long ago and realized that I did not do this movie justice and so now I am starting over. Actually, no amount of words could do justice for why I think this ties as the best movie I have ever seen. But this will do so to an extent. I became a Martin Scorsese fan a long time ago. I first watched Casino and went on to other movies that he made. I went on IMDB and searched what other movies he worked on.Then I went to 1988 and found "The Last Temptation of Christ." I was amazed. The same guy who directed a violent, profane movie about greed made a movie about Jesus? Then I read that it was not biblical. That turned me off. I hated Noah and Exodus Gods and Kings since they trailed off from the Bible-so I did not want to see that done with Jesus.But I did some research. On You Tube, I found a 13 minute interview with Martin Scorsese which stated why he made it. He noticed from his Catholic upbringing that Jesus was God AND He was a man. He was a human. Like us! Since that is the case, what is it that makes Him human like us? That is the point of this movie. It's not bibiical, it's spiritual, and thought provoking.I also saw that Roger Ebert and Gene Siskel both adored it. Roger gave it 4/4 stars and in 2008 wrote a review for his "Great Movies" series of reviews. And despite giving it 3.5 stars, Gene called it the best movie of the year!I decided it was time to check this movie for myself. My 18th birthday was coming up, so I asked a friend who was once my babysitter to get it for me. I got it a month early. You will not be able to imagine how excited I was! I watched it that night to check it out.A part of me wants to analyze the movie scene by scene. But you probably don't want to read a review that long.By the way, the un biblical nature of the movie gained controversy upon release. There were protests, death threats to Martin Scorsese, attacked film goers, etc. over the movie. And most of the protesters did not even see it!But I wanted to see it. And that's what I did.There are 2 main inaccuracies I want to discuss. 2 Corinthians 5:21 says of Jesus: "He made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him." So Jesus was sinless. Got it. There is a scene in which Jesus talks with someone on a hill and he says that He sins. This ticked off many people-and it was even debated on Oprah. But the scene does not end here. "We all sin." The person responds. "Well, not my sins." Jesus continues.Look at my verse quote again. Jesus knew no sin, but took our sins upon Himself. That's what He is saying-at least that's how I look at it.The biggest controversy involves Christ on the cross, and an angel comes and tells Him that God wants Him to live a normal life-and not die for mankind. Jesus has struggled with this fate for the whole movie, and is relieved to hear this. He comes down, marries Mary Magdalene, and has kids with her. This includes a half-minute scene in which they have sex. That angered the protesters the most.But the movie is a work of fiction-and so this is not meant to be taken seriously. Later, He grows old and learns that His "angel" is actually Satan-who has deceived Him so He would not achieve victory over death. He asks God for another chance to die on the cross-and He gets it. He goes back on the cross and-relieved that He has achieved God's will, smiles and screams: "It is accomplished!" This is followed by joyous music that I have to dance to every time! :) So the movie ended up making me appreciate Jesus's sacrifice more than any other moment in my life! I was so uplifted by the movie for the next few days, and I still have an emotional attachment now-after 6 or 7 viewings(in full.) I even shared that with my senior year English class when I had to discuss my favorite movie for a minute as a class assignment. There is so much more that I could say about The Last Temptation of Christ, but this gives you a general idea on why I adore this movie so much! I apologize that it is so long(this may be the longest review that I ever write) but this is to give you a general idea on how spiritual, and not blasphemous, it is. The movie was based on a novel by an agnostic. In the prologue, he writes, in paraphrase: "I hope this story will let any free man more than before, and better than before, love Christ." And that is where The Last Temptation of Christ undeniably succeeds!

After all the fuss that was made at the time of the release of this movie I expected it to be more shocking than it is.Scorsese's movie gives us a troubled Jesus played by Daniel Defoe. He does not embrace the role of saviour of mankind easily. He is tempted by Satan often, and at the end we are given his alternative life if he had succumbed to those temptations, especially that of the flesh in the form of Barbara Hershey as Mary Magdalene. It's this aspect of the film that got the placards waving and the picket lines outside the theatres in 1988.I have some sympathy for people who were offended (not for the violence though). Maybe the fullest interpretation of the meaning of blasphemy is not just insulting the name of God, but insulting anyone's deeply held beliefs. However, all things considered, I don't think this film does that. "Last Temptation" is actually a thoughtful exploration of Jesus coming to terms with his relationship with God, reinforcing much that is in the Gospels - I was surprised so many miracles were included. An element that does have shock value (although drawn from Kazantzakis' novel) is Jesus producing custom crosses for the Romans. And what were all those naked women doing hanging out with John the Baptist? It seemed inspired more by Woodstock than events at the River Jordan.With that said, I have always been fascinated by films that approach the life of Jesus obliquely or interpret it in a new way such as "Risen", "The Body", "The Word", and 1961's "Barabbas". A book that also did this in a compelling way was Robin Maugham's "The Sign" about a life paralleling that of Jesus. "Last Temptation" is not unlike "Jesus Christ Superstar". It is a stylised reinterpretation through a modern lens. Topping off the similarities, Peter Gabriel's score is a blend of Middle Eastern music and new age electronics with the most triumphant track playing over the credits following the crucifixion.This film doesn't deny the existence of Christ nor does it refute his otherworldliness. But this path to the cross is not the one trodden by Jeffery Hunter in "King of Kings" or Max von Sydow in "The Greatest Story Ever Told". If anything, this one goes more via the psychiatrist's couch.

I do have to say how wrong this movie is. Some may agree with me, and many will not. However, I am not concerned with the argument many have with me, but concern is that the blasphemy in this film is deceiving many people, especially ones who already know Christ. Although I have problems with most of the film, mainly I'm annoyed with the second half of the film. The movie portrays Jesus not only running through trials and tribulation, but actually fell into temptation. The movie shows that Satan was able to trick Jesus by disguising himself as a little girl, and after seeing Jesus fall into temptation and marry Mary Magdalene and have sexual relations with her is purely disgusting. No where in the Bible does it say that Jesus had sexual relations with Mary Magdalene. No where in the Bible does Jesus defy God and follow Satan. The Good Word says, "Jesus cried out, 'Father why have you forsaken me'. It was only shortly after this Jesus gave up His Spirit and died." There is no jumping off the cross and joining the devil there. No! He died on the cross and after three days, He rose again. So where in that part of Scripture does Jesus marry Magdalene, and where does the Bible say he lived to be 80 years old?There is nothing in Scripture to support that. No my friends, when Jesus resurrected He carried on with the earth for 40 days before He was ascended into heaven. And the two angels stood near the disciples and said, "This same Jesus you saw going into heaven, will come back in the same way you saw Him go into heaven. I tell you the truth, if you think Jesus fell into temptation, then you are making Him and the Father to be a liar. Literally, anyone who thinks that Jesus had sex with Mary and married her and died at 80 is calling God a liar. For Jesus is the unblemished Lamb who was sacrificed for our sins, therefore, Jesus is sinless even on earth. If anyone does not believe this, they really need help, because I tell you now, the making of this movie was not prompted by the Holy Spirit, but by man's own fantasy through the prompting of demonic spirits.I'm not saying Jesus Christ is a fantasy, but this movie is. The way Jesus died in this film does not match the Word of God. Now, many people are wondering if I'm a child of God, and probably many are accusing me of being Satan's follower. Well, honestly if that accusation helps them sleep at night, then go right ahead, but I'm not going to believe them, for I believe in my Saviour, Jesus Christ, and I know deep down that He would not accept Satan's desires or be tricked by him in any way. The Devil is a liar and the father of all lies (John 8:44).Jesus had much to say to the Pharisees and Sadducees in Matthew 23. He woed them seven times. Maybe you should take a look.

Having a degree in Biblical studies, i can say this is the most heretical movie I've ever seen. I stopped counting theological issues in the first 20 minutes.Aside from that, I still think this was a bad movie. The cinematography was great, but there was so much information with so little explanation. We feel like we can follow it because we've heard about Jesus before. If we put that bias aside, the train of though is confusing. Since i could go on a few pages, I'll shorten down to a one sentence summary of my frustration.The Last Temptation of Christ is a visually beautiful conglomeration of bad doctrine, inconsistent characters, historically inaccurate facts, pornography, and a jumbled/incoherent story line.Not recommended for anyone, particularly not for new believers or those who struggle with pornography.