The King of Kings

At this time of year two things occur: the summer film season is ramping up and it is the time for the Easter season. And with "The King of Kings" being released, it's an animated film which is typically a favorite form of film during the summer, and, it being an Easter film, it falls into theaters during this time as well. For movie companies, it's the best of both worlds. 

A father, in this case is Charles Dickens (Kenneth Branagh), tells his son, Walter (Roman Griffin Davis) the greatest story ever told, and what begins as a bedtime tale becomes a life-changing journey. Through vivid imagination, the boy walks alongside Jesus (Oscar Isaac), witnessing His miracles, facing His trials, and understanding His ultimate sacrifice on the cross. "The King of Kings" invites us to rediscover the enduring power of hope, love and redemption through the eyes of a child. 

Others to round out the cast are Pierce Brosnan as Pontius Pilate, Uma Thurman as Catherine Dickens, wife of Charles, Mark Hamill as King Herod, Forest Whitaker as Peter, Ben Kingsley and High Priest Caiaphas, Jim Cummings as James the Greater/Pharisee Hillel, Dee Bradley Baker as Willa the Cat and Fred Tatasciore as Pharisee Eleazar. 

This film was compassionately directed by Seong-ho Jang (visual effects). Even though this filmmaker has no feature film experience--certainly none in the direction realm, he absolutely pulled this off. With his passion and sensitive handling of the subject matter, he took this story and produced a movie that all could envision and could take something from it. It was also well written by Seong-ho Jang (visual effects) as well. Additional writing was actually commissioned by Rob Edwards ("Treasure Planet" '02, "The Princess and the Frog" '09, "Captain America: Brave New World" '25, "Sneaks" '25) plus TV, a short and a video game and Jamie Thomason. Now, was this writing as talented as it was because of Jang's work or because of the two individuals who provided the additional writing? Not sure, however the resume of that of Edwards would conclude in most peoples' hearts that Edwards had a huge influence. But either way, the culmination of writers certainly brought us a powerful script. It actually followed the sequences in the bible extremely well which tells me that there were Christians involved in this, and it would need to happen, otherwise the story very likely would become convoluted. 

Certainly if you're a Christian, this will be very easy to follow along with the story, but even if you're not, it is a film that will speak volumes to one's heart. It is a film for all to see, but even though it's seen through the eyes of a child, kids will gravitate to this, after all, it is the greatest story ever told. 

Out of 4 Stars: 4                                          Rated: PG                                            104mins.