GamerTab That was an excellent one.

StyleSk8r At first rather annoying in its heavy emphasis on reenactments, this movie ultimately proves fascinating, simply because the complicated, highly dramatic tale it tells still almost defies belief.

Humaira Grant It’s not bad or unwatchable but despite the amplitude of the spectacle, the end result is underwhelming.

Jonah Abbott There's no way I can possibly love it entirely but I just think its ridiculously bad, but enjoyable at the same time.

Gene Fedorov This is the most inconsistent interpretation of JCS I ever seen and heard. While there were some aspects that I admired, there were others where I just couldn't help but turn away from the screen in disgust.The instrumental part was great throughout, much better than in the "original" Jewison's film. Especially the lower spectrum of the musical score has been captured very well, adding a new dimension to the sound. I have no complains about the the stage settings, light, camera work and overall directorship either -- although debatable, they were done professionally. The actors performances, on the other hand... are a different story.Jerome Pradon. I haven't heard of this actor before, but his expert performance made me a fan overnight. He's head and shoulders above the rest of the cast. Intelligence, drama, subtlety – he has it all covered. Here's one of the highlights: during "Hosanna" he keeps his usual sarcastic, thoughtful demeanor ("Enjoy this nonsense while you can... because it will get us into trouble soon"), until the moment the crowd shouts at Jesus: "Will you DIE for me?" Immediately upon catching the meaning, he jumps into full alert mode, first scanning the crowd to locate the source of the threat ("Someone wants to hurt my friend. They'll have to deal with me first."), then realizes that nothing can be done, gives bewildered Jesus a meaningful glance ("Didn't I try to tell you it would come to this? And you didn't want to listen?"), studies his face intently, thinks he read an answer to his unspoken question, smiles weakly ("You still don't. Who am I to you... Even if I give you my life, I can't save you from yourself... how ironic"), then turns away and sinks back into his sad thoughts. This whole scene is so full of psychological nuances and is so expertly played that, despite lasting only few seconds, is completely unforgettable. There are many other moments where Pradon's acting is just as brilliant. His singing is good, just not as good as his acting. It's very expressive. He seems quite a capable singer, I only wish his voice didn't crack ALL the time. This is a minor complain, though. Overall, if the film is worth watching at all, that's because of him.Renee Castle is lovable and sings well, although she is not very convincing as Magdalene. "So calm, so cool, no lover's fool" -- she appears exactly the opposite of her self-assessment, always looking too vulnerable, young and naive for an experienced former prostitute. Even considering her love might have affected her personality, at certain moments her past must have gotten the upper hand, especially when she had to deal with Judas' harassment.Caifas: As a singer, complete disaster. He can't sing in profondo range, no matter how hard he tries. Unfortunately, he tries repetitively, poor man, much to his embarrassment. I wonder why he didn't switch to an upper octave, or better yet, admitted it just wasn't his part and walked away. Since I had to skip forward, unable to bear his so called singing, I can't comment on this actor's performance.Michael Shaeffer. Screeching voice, menacing looks, a maniac in the flesh. The only problem, I don't think Annas was a maniac. If he's a villain, I envision him as a more cunning and subtle one.Fred Johanson. In his acting he is grossly, freakishly over the top, as if on a verge of a mental breakdown or performing in some sort of a parody of the original (think of "Spaceballs"). As for his singing -- this was the first time in my life when I wanted to puke at the first part of a musical phrase ("cluttering UPPPP!!!!!"... ugh) and liked the second part of it ("my haaall - waay"). Overall, his performance left me sad. Pilate deserves to be taken more seriously.Tony Vincent. Acting nonexistent. So what if he's supposed to represent a hardened extremist revolutionary? That's probably too much to ask from a "cutie" who can actually sing and dance.Rik Mayall. I actually liked his grotesque presentation. Indeed, he looked funny and menacing at the same time, quite fitting Herod's part. Unfortunately, his total inability to control his voice, which even topped that of Caifas', forced me to watch him with muted sound.Finally, Glenn Carter. Judging by his performance, I am not convinced that he is an actor at all. His depiction of Christ is pathetic and insulting. His acting is melodramatic in the worst possible sense. At one point, when he was going to pieces on the floor yet again, I literally felt nauseous and had to look away from the screen until he finished his act. His attempts to put a meaningful expression on his face were just as painful to watch. There were moments where he smiled, or frowned his brow, or made some other (usually irrelevant) grimace; but he seemed most comfortable keeping his face totally blank, as if recently treated with BOTOX. Not a single thought more complex than "now I must look sad / angry" or "just watch me... exercise my upper falcetto range" managed to surface in his eyes, either. Basically, he acted like an animated mannequin, a puppet, although maybe not as innocent as Pilate called him. Associating him with the protagonist even for a second? You gotta be kidding... Some say his performance presents Jesus as more human-like than Ted Neeley's. In my opinion, Terminator is more human-like than Carter's Jesus. His singing seemed orders of magnitude better than his acting. I guess I was so distracted by his abysmal acting that I couldn't give his singing the attention it probably deserved.Out of total five: three for the instrumental part, three for directing and camera work, four to Pradon, one to Castle, minus two to Carter, minus four to the rest of the cast.

Scott Baldwin (Meven_Stoffat) Happy Easter, everyone!!! Love is in the air!!!... just not on IMDb, and especially not on my review of this demolition of a classic.I'm one of the few who thinks Andrew Lloyd Webber is the worst thing to happen to musical theatre and the cause of the downfall of modern society. I think that JCS is quite possibly the ONE good thing that he has ever been a part of, and it was one of my favourite movies as a child. This weekend, this remake aired on TV, and I figured this would be a good watch, eh? No, actually.First off, the look of the movie is incredibly awful. I totally don't believe this was shot at Pinewood- for starters, this film looks like a cross between a commercial for some 1990's street clothing company, and a Colour Me Badd music video. What's with all the graffiti??? Are they trying to make this a "street tough" JCS??? Lots accuse the 70's movie of being too "hippie", but I respectfully disagree, and besides, even if it was, it still would be way better than this trainwreck of a film. Especially hilarious was the Pilate's Dream scene... it looked like a gay porn spoof of Aladdin.The cast is HORRIBLE!!!! The one good performer in this is Tony Vincent... shame he got a role so small (Simon) and below his INCREDIBLE range!!! And why does he look like a gay stripper in this movie???? He should have been Judas. Speak of the devil (no pun intended), Jerome Pradon is quite possibly the worst singer ever to make it to the stage. His voice is so nasal and whimpy. And then there are times I thought I was listening to Yogi Bear singing. I actually laughed during Heaven on their Mind, when he yelled "JEEEEEESSSUUUUUSSSSS!!!!!!!!!!". Actually, since I recorded this on my PVR, I go back and rewind that part over and over if I need a laugh. Then, there's Glen Carter... and even he sucked!!!! His falsetto was so bad, he even made me laugh in the wrong places too. "MOOOOOOOOOOOYYYYYYY TAMPLAH SHAD BEEEEHHH A HOOOOSEEEE OF PRAAAAHAAAAYAAAAHHHHRRRRRR!!!!!" don't get me started. Those calling him good, GET YOUR EARS CHECKED. Also, I love when he over-emphasizes "obssessed" in "What's the Buzz"... "Whah ah you Obsessed with faaaatttting!!!!!" Mary sounds like she's singing with her throat. Pilate?? Let me just say he has nothing on Barry Dennen's kick-ass rasp that totally added.As for the production in general... I gotta give props to Tony because he really acted and sang his face off in this trainwreck. Why did they make Judas a leather jacket-wearing punk who acts creepily around women (what was with the flirting during "Everything's alright"? Why does Herod look like Al Capone??? Why does Jesus come off as a wimp who looks like Robert Plant in a wifebeater??? Why does Judas wear red in the finale and sing spitefully in Jesus' face during "Superstar"? WHy does Jesus cry like a baby during the crucifixion? Why does Jesus deliver his final line like "I commend... MYYYYYYYYY SPPPIIIIIIIIIIIRIIIIIIIIITTTTTTTTTTT!!!!!!!" (on the same topic, does whoever directed this think a man who got whipped senselessly, forced to carry his own cross, nailed and hung from the cross have the energy to do that?!?!?!?!)?. Oh, and don't forget, I was just yelling "Hurry up and die already!" at the screen during the crucifixion... not a good sign.Just avoid this disaster. Seek the 73 version out because it's a rockin' movie, and Carl Anderson and Ted Neely FTW.

wolfshead56 I ran across this on TV last night and thought it was the 73 version. While I didn't think the movie held a candle to the play when I saw it many moons ago there wasn't much on and thought I would give it another chance. As this went on I thought, I don't remember it being this bad. Then I saw it was the 2000 version not the 73. Not even going to go in to the acting. It's a musical and if the music don't work then all the acting in the world can't save it and this music not only didn't work, it was on strike. Half the voices were so high pitched I wondered if the singers were huffing helium before their numbers. Was there a special on sopranos during casting? Even when a good voice was found the arrangements were god awful. Instead of the songs flowing smoothly it seemed that every line in a number of songs was chopped off, as if it was being spoken at the end rather than sung. I grew up in the JCS era and still have my original vinyl stored away and am sure that the 40 year old record would still have a smoother tone than the songs in this show.

bad_wolf-3 Nearly thirty years after the original movie and over thirty years since the release of the play, an updated version seemed to make sense. Nevertheless, one should only do a remake if one is certain that one can improve on the original. This, I'm sorry to say, is not the case with this version of Jesus Christ Superstar.All of the characters, with the exception of Renee Castle (playing Mary Magdelene) appear to be very aware of the fact that they are playing roles that have become iconic. The entire production appears stagy and the songs have been reworked so that they sound pompous. It's clear that the direction was attempting to capture the sense of watching a live play, while using television direction techniques to make certain that the audience focuses on what the director thinks is important. That much of the production is clever. The characters, however, never break out of two-dimensions. They possess the bland detachment that one would expect from a cardboard box. One the rare occasion that the characters do demonstrate some honest to goodness pathos, it usually manifests in an irritating manner. Jesus comes off as whiny and slightly self-absorbed. Judas' motives are never clear–is he just trying to perform an elaborate "I told you so"? Does he really love or hate Jesus? I think it's clear that the director is trying to say that Judas is ambiguous and controlled by external forces, but at the end of the day makes a clear-cut decision to betray Jesus. Okay, I'll buy that. Just direct that actor so that is made explicitly clear. Peter is wooden and statuesque. Herod is pathetic. The priest are creepy. Which brings up another point: what is with all the leather. It appears that somebody in charge of this production has some kind of S&M fetish.Interspersed amidst all this disappointment are a few good moments. Whenever Renee Castle make up the bulk of those moments. The disciples forgiving Judas and hugging him after he stirred up trouble with his "Mystifying" song and angering Jesus where he berates all the disciples is another good moment. The Simon Zelotes number beginning with a riot was also well done; unfortunately is quickly devolved and became static.Overall, the strength of this production is to make one appreciate the 1973 movie all the more.