When I read the other reviews, I was shocked by the positivity and lack of criticism, so I had to write this review, as it seems I'm the only person who's going to speak out against this insult to the original musical! I have to say, in its defence, that this was truly one of the FUNNIEST films I have ever seen. The flaw- it's not a comedy nor is it supposed to be remotely amusing, yet it had me and my family literally in stitches through out the film and when we looking back on it. The reason? The sheer ridiculousness of it. As a great lover of Musical Theatre and Andrew Lloyd Webber and especially of Jesus Christ Superstar, I was disgusted that Ted Neely had been cast as Jesus as he clearly hasn't the voice. True, he can hit the high notes, but that's all I can say. He doesn't sing them, he just about hits them with a squawk that would any dying parrot would be envious of. Gethsemane, Jesus prayer to God in the garden of Gethsemane just before his arrest, is one of the most beautiful songs ever to grace the stage. I do admit, it isn't an easy song to sing - for the musical among you, there's a top G in the song, which is very high and beyond most men, but still if he was cast as Jesus he HAS to be able to sing that song. And he does make some form of noise, although I'm not sure if singing would be the right word -Neely sounds like he's constantly short of breath and about to have an asthmatic attack. Even more annoying for me, especially because after you notice it you can't stop noticing it every time you see Jesus, is that Ted Neely has a slight outward turn in one of his eyes which makes him look rather comical - rather ruining the moment of extreme sombreness. As for King Herod - we do I start? I still laugh when I think of him, and to be fair, he is one of the more lighthearted characters, which is the way Lloyd Webber intended it when writing JCS. What he didn't intend, however, is that Herod be interpreted as flamboyantly camp at best (this is the only way I can describe it!). Josh Mostel plays the overweight, scantily clad and quite disgusting Herod who dances about with the fat wobbling and in tinted glasses like a well known 70s singer not a pretty picture, although highly amusing and actually well acted. However the poor Neely gives Mostel nothing to play off. True, he is supposed to be light hearted, but the director, Norman Jewison seems to have gone too far here. As you might have guessed by now, Ted Neely isn't my favourite actor of all time, so imagine how I felt when I discovered that Neely directed the most ridiculous part of the whole film which completely ruins it. The scene is after Judas had betrayed Jesus, and is in the desert. Keep in mind that this is set in 4BC. Suddenly over the horizon appear 3 battle tanks, like you would associate with WWII! As if that isn't bad or ridiculous enough, 2 Fighter-Jet planes appear and chase Judas! What the heck is going on?! On top of all that, the costumes are dated, the special effects poor and the attempt to have it as a mix of 4BC and the 1970s really isn't working and just leaves the audience confused! To be fair there are positives. Carl Anderson is superb as Judas Iscariot, and really brings across a side of Judas that is often missed in the traditional telling of the story not as the bad guy, but as someone doing what he thinks is best, and with a good soul, however he betrays Jesus because he believes that although he is a good man, he doesn't believe Jesus is the Messiah. Mary Magdalene is also impressive, if not a little different than the usual portrayal of her character. Also, the film still has all the music from the ALW show so is can't be that bad, even if some of the singers aren't up to scratch. The crucifixion is still moving and sombre, however it's disappointingly rather glossed over as unimportant, despite being the most relevant part of the film if the crucifixion hadn't happened, there wouldn't be much point to the story. To conclude, maybe worth a one time watch if you fancy a laugh, but not one to be taken to seriously for either historical accuracy or fantastic voices. In my opinion, save your money and instead buy the 1996 London Recording of 'Jesus Christ Superstar'. You'll get much more out of listening to a masterfully sung version of the show (which the 1996 recording is) than watching this mediocre film with just-better-than-average singing and poor acting.
Review of Jesus Christ Superstar
