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AnhartLinkin This story has more twists and turns than a second-rate soap opera.

Aiden Melton The storyline feels a little thin and moth-eaten in parts but this sequel is plenty of fun.

Billy Ollie Through painfully honest and emotional moments, the movie becomes irresistibly relatable

gavin6942 The biographical story of Michelangelo's troubles while painting the Sistine Chapel at the urging of Pope Julius II.I went into this film unaware. I knew a little about Michelangelo, nothing about Pope Julius, and very little about the Sistine Chapel (which I now know was built and named for Julius' uncle). But I love that it started with a short overview of Mike's work, because that really set the tone.How accurate this is, I do not know. But it makes for an interesting struggle: the leader of the Catholic Church against probably the greatest artist of his time. Was there really a fight to make the sculptor paint? I suppose so. What was Michelangelo's faith, because this film sure makes him seem less than thrilled to be working for the Catholic Church...

pruiett This movie is a credit to the producers. It shows the Pope of Rome as human, and as a man who understands his weaknesses and God's greatness. I am a Baptist and hence do not hold to Roman Catholic theology. However, it is fair to say that the two main characters, Michelangelo and Pope Julius do a good job of pointing to the bigness of God and the smallness of man.The movie has some very good statements about God and His sovereignty. The Pope in a weak and humble moment is found by Michelangelo kneeling with a candle at the top of the scaffolding under the panel depicting creation. He asks with awe and wonder about how Michelangelo came to the image of God and man. The Pope then stated, "There is God Who created man, and the artist who was moved to paint the image . . . I am merely a Pope." And he meant "merely a Pope." He understood his smallness. At the end the dying Pope says to Michelangelo, "When I stand before God in judgment, I will place this ceiling in the balance against my sins . . . perhaps it will shorten my time in purgatory." Again, I do not hold to purgatory. But the Pope understood that only those things done for the glory of God will last. Good movie and does honor to history, WITHOUT bad language or sexual content. Good family fare.

George Wright The story of the rivalry between Pope Julius II and Michelangelo is an epic movie from director Carol Reed, which not only contrasts the lavish life of the Pope with the hardscrabble existence of his famous protégé but also shows the common ground between them - a deep faith. This is early 16th century Italy. Rex Harrison, as the Pope, is a soldier who leads his forces in battle. He believes this is his calling in order to save the Papal States from being overrun by foreigners. He is no 21st century Pope Francis; however, he does appreciate art and the role of great artists to interpret the faith. This explains his relationship with Michelangelo.Rex Harrison dominates every scene he appears in. Harrison is very impressive with his classic voice and an outstanding script and he gives a strong persona to Pope Julius in his long white and red robes. He is a renaissance-warrior pope who has moments when he becomes almost like a kindred spirit of Michelangelo, if only briefly.Julius makes his entrance on a white horse following one of his battles while pieces of bread are thrown to the peasants in the town square. His costumed entourage follow as the people kneel and bless themselves. Overblown definitely; but certainly a grand spectacle. I also was taken by the quarry scenes where stone masons are seen cutting and sculpting marble or workers sawing through it and moving it on pulleys. After first rejecting the idea of painting the Sistine Chapel, Michelangelo comes to embrace it after seeing a vision in the sky that inspired the idea of painting the Creation in the Chapel. The sparring of two strong-willed giants of the early 1500s is a match of forceful arguments; however, because he has the power, Julius is able to have his way. A devout Christian, Michelangelo still did not bend easily to the Pope's will. Later, Michelangelo realizes he needed the pope's determination to force him to finish painting the Sistine Chapel.It is amusing to watch the Pope pass underneath the scaffolding inside the famous chapel as his procession ducks splattering paint, and falling objects. We see Julius chiding the artist for showing disrespect to his cardinals, while defending the frescoes that are being attacked as pagan. Later, we find Julius visiting the bedside of the ailing painter saying that he has been too overbearing and that he will take him off the project, and send him off to his hometown of Florence with a pension while Raphael takes over. This has the intended effect of forcing the painter back to the job. In the end, we see the bond between the artist and the warrior pope whose real legacy might have been that he recognized the talent of the artist Michelangelo, not his role in preventing the sack of Rome. Theirs was more like a troubled father-son relationship. Julius seems to understand the deep faith and timeless quality of Michelangelo's work more than the artist himself who failed to grasp its profound effect on the pope. Julius admitted that he lacked the faith that inspired great art and thus he could not be an artist. Thus, he appreciated it and learned from it.I liked the female lead in the movie, played by Diane Cilento, who had a deep affection for the artist, but it was an unrequited love. Was Michelangelo too consumed with art to be interested in women? It does raise a question, however, about a young man in the prime of life, who is passionate in every other way. We don't know the answer and it hardly seems to matter to the story but it is worth noting. This woman in particular knew his talent and also influenced him to persevere. The movie is one more of Heston's iconic roles drawn from the history of the the Jewish and Christian faiths. But most of all, it is a movie with superb performances by two great actors representing different aspects of Christendom in the early 1500's.

appujosephjose I like historical films. Recently I watched three historical films all made in the early 1960s. These are 'El Cid', 'The Spartacus' and 'The Agony and The Ecstasy'. Of the three, I rate The Agony and the Ecstasy as the best. This film is based on the eponymous novel written by Irving Stone. I had read the book nearly a decade back and it was nice to see the film finally. The film is about the circumstances under which Michelangelo came to compose his famous frescoes in the Sistine Chapel of Rome in the 16th century. The Sistine fresco, the 'creation of man' has become almost an emblem for the artist. But not many know that Michelangelo painted the Sistine frescoes reluctantly, only because he was forced to do so by his patron, Pope Julius II. The film is about the war of wits between these two great men Pope Julius II is a warrior pope, a worldly Pope. His concern is to protect the papal states from being over run by warring European powers. For this he is willing to take up arms. The pope knows that the posterity wont remember him for his spiritual prowess or leadership. Therefore he want to leave great works of art as his legacy. He therefore hires Michelangelo to paint the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel. The artist is not very keen on painting and considers sculpture to be his true calling. He is also not willing to conform to the prevailing canons of artistic excellence. He feels constrained by the limits of time and money that is set. All the great moments of the film occur when the Pope and the Artist clash. It is a clash of ideas and world views: (1) Whether sculpture is a superior form of art as compared to painting; (2) Whether it is appropriate depict biblical figures in their raw humanity; (3) Whether it is moral for a man of god to take arms for his principles and so on. For me the finest scene in the film is where the Pope and the Cardinals come to see the frescoes and judge it as lacking in good taste. The Artist is forced to give a strong rebuttal and in the process he expounds the humanist philosophy of art. Shot in beautiful Technicolor, the film still looks spectacular. It is a visual and intellectual treat.