REVIEW: "The King of Kings" (2025)

(Courtesy  IMP Awards) 

WRITER'S NOTE: The following was originally posted on my Facebook page on May 2, 2025. 

In the mid-1800s, author Charles Dickens spent roughly three years writing a manuscript about the life of Jesus of Nazareth titled, The Life of Our Lord. Although it wouldn’t be published until 1934 (more than 60 years after the author’s death), Dickens would reportedly read it to his children every year. That story is now the subject of a new computer-animated film from Angel Studios and CGI company Mofac.  

The King of Kings opens with Charles giving a live reading of his beloved novel, A Christmas Carol, occasionally interrupted by his son Walter, who is fascinated with the story and legend of King Arthur. At the insistence of his wife Catherine, an impatient Charles tells his son the story of “the king of kings.” While uninterested at first, Walter soon becomes immersed in this epic and decades-spanning story about forgiveness and love. 

An all-star cast headlines this wonderful CGI retelling, including Oscar Isaac (as Jesus), Kenneth Branagh and Uma Thurman (as Charles & Catherine Dickens), Ben Kingsley (as Caiaphas), Pierce Brosnan (as Pontius Pilate), and Forest Whitaker (as disciple Peter). Veteran voice actor Jimmy Cummings (and others in the cast) play multiple roles. This gives the film real gravitas and credibility, resulting in the first animated film of its kind since The Prince of Egypt over two-and-a-half decades earlier. (You probably didn’t know this, but the first film credit for Oscar Isaac was another Biblical drama, The Nativity Story from 2006.) 

There are many emotional moments throughout The King of Kings, including some intense imagery during the climax. And yes, the film is sentimental. But it’s good sentimentality. And not just because it’s told from a child’s perspective. Aided by Kim Tae-Seong’s powerful and moving score (with help from a terrific children’s choir), there were scenes that had this writer welling up with tears. I was, at times, reminded of Rankin-Bass’s animated T.V. version of The Little Drummer Boy from the 1970s. While some liberties are taken (the Pharisees paid Judas to betray Jesus?), certain 2D segments recount Old Testament stories from Genesis and Exodus—and how they relate to why Jesus did what he did for our sakes. 

Dickens once spoke about the Good Book and had this to say: “Because it is the best book that ever was, or will be, known in the world; and because it teaches you the best lessons by which any human creature, who tries to be truthful and faithful to duty, can possibly be guided.” 

This film is a great opportunity for children and families to go to the movies, and a great excuse for those who don’t normally do so. It’s an especially great way for them to see and hear the Gospel, from Jesus’s birth to his three-year ministry to the gathering of the Twelve Disciples, and finally his death and resurrection. High quality animation is a plus (the scene with the feeding of the 5,000, and the scene where Jesus and Peter walk on water, are especially incredible to look at). Like Walter, some of those children may be excited and can’t wait to share this story. The kids in the special message after the movie, at the screening I attended, sure were. 

#filmfreeq #bekerianreviews #21stcenturycinema #angelstudios #thekingofkings2025