On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, 37% of 49 critics' reviews are positive, with an average rating of 5.1/10. The website's critical consensus reads, "The Gospel of John takes a reverent approach to its story without ever bringing it to life, proving that cribbing from the Good Book isn't enough to guarantee a good movie."[4]Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned the film a score of 52 out of 100 based on responses from 14 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews".[5]
Criticism
While the film is largely a faithful depiction of the Gospel of John, Rhonda Handlon of Plugged In noted that the inclusion of Mary Magdalene at the Last Supper has no direct Biblical citation, and might cause issue with viewers who prefer only direct scriptural references.[6]
^John F. A. SawyerThe Blackwell Companion to the Bible and Culture 2012 "Overshadowed by The Passion is British director Philip Saville's The Gospel of John (2003) a film whose text is the Gospel of John, ... The film is narrated by Christopher Plummer, whose authoritative voice makes the text sound like gospel"
^Handlon, Rhonda. "The Gospel of John Movie Review". Plugged In. Focus on the Family. Archived from the original on 19 August 2020. Retrieved 6 May 2019. Some Christians may take issue with Mary Magdalene's silent presence at Christ's last supper with his disciples (it's not noted anywhere in scripture).
