Delayed Reaction: The Passion of the Christ

The Pitch: Let's do a "realistic" portrayal of Jesus's persecution. Don't worry about profitability. We'll make it a religious mandate for an entire Easter season.

Remember when that name used to me something to people? Mel Gibson's, I mean.

What Took Me So Long: Protest, mostly. I figure 9 years is long enough to prove I'm not seeing it because "you have to."

Why I Saw It: (Club 50) It is without a doubt the highest grossing movie that I've never seen. Given the motivation of this club 50 project of mine, it would be bad to continue ignoring it. I'll give them credit. They created a grisly depiction of the passion, perhaps too grisly, but I get what they were going for. Also, props for sticking with the Hebrew. English would've been a cop out. It was also very clear the actors were totally on board with it.

Why I Wish I Hadn't: I remember people talking about how you couldn't be a good Christian if you didn't see this (in my case, that was accurate). This is basically an art film and I'm not sure that there was any message to it other than "feel the pain". Watching it years removed from its release, I realize this of one of those weird pop culture moments that don't fully make sense, like "The Macarena" or Tickle Me Elmo, that I can't explain why it was such a big deal, but it was.

Verdict (?): Strongly Don't Recommend