qmtv What we have here is an interesting idea, finding the possible skeletons of Jesus. What follows is a political/religious intrigue between the Vatican, Israelis/Jews, and the Palestinians/Terrorists. I didn't read the book and will not. I think the idea of finding Jesus's skeleton is fine. The best part was in the beginning when the archeologist finds the bones, and then a Catholic priest goes into the tomb and coming out we see the horror on his face. The film devolves from there. We are introduced to Banderas as an ex-military man, now priest being sent by the Vatican to Jerusalem to investigate the findings and denounce that it is Jesus. He meets the archeologist, we get a stupid careless and nonsense car ride/comic relief. Back and forth between these characters with a lot of talking, boredom, Palestinian/Terrorist, Israeli government intrigue. Best part was when the orthodox jews started stoning Banderas. There was some serious beat down there. Later there's a car bombing. At the end, the movie ends with some kind of shoot out, helicopter and an explosion where the bones are destroyed. Banderas loses his fate in the church, but not in god. There's some nonsense romance with Banderas and the archeologist. Basically, this film is a complete borefest. The initial ideas was fine. But the execution/script was complete garbage. Finding the bones of Christ is great. But then you need a writer with some intelligence to come up with a compelling story. This one does not have it. It would have been better if they found the bones, someone cuts himself, blood flows on the bones, later the body comes back to life, not as Jesus, but as Juda, and this is the anti Christ, and then flows some kind of end of world death and destruction. Now that would be interesting. Forget Plan 9 from Outer Space. That is truly one of the worst films ever made. But it looks like The Body had a budget. So, with the budget, This is the Worst Film Ever Made. Banderas does fine with the material. It's not his fault.

Nick Leung The body is about an Israeli archaeologist who discovers an ancient skeleton that has found in a tomb in Jerusalem. The remains indicated it could have been have the body of Christ because of the crucifixion marks, faint marking around the skulls and many other signs. The Vatican then decides to send a priest to investigate the issue and make sure whatever she discovers does not become a major issue. I found the movie to be quite boring and had terrible performances by the actors. This movie is a great example of an interesting idea (discovering the body of Christ) terribly executed. If it were better made and had a better script, it could have been an excellent movie. The ending of the story make the movie seem quite pointless as well, since everything was covered up, and the body was actually not the body of Christ. After watching this movie, I have learned that in order for the movie to be entertaining, it has to be made well even though it was a great idea. I have also learned that we have to keep on digging deeper to find more facts before making assumptions. (They concluded that it was Jesus Christ before they looked at everything (the plaque hidden in the tomb that said it was David who was buried.Overall, the movie is boring, badly directed, and had somewhat bad acting.

Hee Jae Yang World Religions Movie Review by Brandi B.God has no place in politics—this is the theme of The Body.Antonio Banderas plays Father Matt Gutierrez, a priest sent by the Vatican to investigate the discovery of a tomb in Jerusalem, which may or may not contain the crucified remains of Christ. Gutierrez has been given instructions by the Vatican to declare that the remains are not those of Christ; but with all of the evidence suggesting otherwise, the priest must struggle with facing the fact that his religion may be founded on a lie, and that, perhaps, Jesus was never resurrected. Banderas's mission brings his faith into question, and the situation creates a political crisis between Palestinian and Israeli power groups and, of course, the findings could bring into question basic premises on which Christianity is built. All of these things were brought into the movie in great depth and were thoroughly expressed. It was great to see how politics and religion conflict when a subject as important as this one is brought up. I think it greatly portrayed the way the Church would react if findings like this were brought up. The movie included these important qualities as well as believable characters that were well-portrayed, aerial photography that gives one a better idea of the Jerusalem region, and a plot that is believable. An important thing you will learn from this is how the churches react and how they are willing to closely protect their beliefs no matter the situation. If you choose to watch this, I recommend that you stick it out to the end; you may not be riveted to the screen but, like me, you might learn a little about a fascinating subject. If you don't have a basic knowledge about Christianity, this movie will go right over your head. Perhaps that is one of the reasons this film gets a lower rating than I would have expected.

jcanettis What I liked most in "The Body" was not what THE PLOT was about, but WHAT ISSUES it dealt with: It brings up a hot question of what would happen if somehow proof came up that Jesus was a mere mortal after all, thus shaking Christianity's foundations.The story in the "Body" goes as follows: Dr. Sharon (Williams), a determined and skilled archaeologist, discovers a body which qualifies to be the one of Christ. Her amazing discovery naturally attracts great attention from several sides, despite the fact that it is suppressed from the general public: First of all there is the Vatican, who fears that this discovery will undermine the Christian faith, and thus sends Father Gutierrez "to investigate", i.e. "to bury", the case; then there is the Israeli government, which finds the whole issue as a great tool to further its political aims; and finally, we have the Palestinians who also find the discovery as a great opportunity to pursue their own agenda. As Fr. Gutierrez and Dr. Sharon try to work together and find the truth, their efforts are continuously stymied by the above three competing parties which conspire and collide endlessly.The above plot makes for an interesting thriller, that's for sure. But as I said, what I liked more in this film are the philosophical issues it deals with: What if proof came up that Christ didn't resurrect, after all? Would this destroy Christianity, or as an Israeli spy master says in the film, some faithfuls may abandon ship but the religion is big enough to prevail? And how would the Vatican (and the Protestant and Orthodox churches for that matter) react to such news? Difficult questions, which the film handles rather skillfully, although still a bit superficially.The direction is good, albeit sometimes things could be a bit less slow. Still, McCord produces wonderfully the atmosphere of a city as contradictory as Jerusalem.As far as the acting is concerned, Banderas was good but not perfect. Williams was much better in her role, but sometimes her Israeli accent disappeared revealing her UK roots. I liked Jacobi in his small role as a priest who finds this shocking discovery too big for him to handle.Verdict: 7/10.