VERDICT: 2.5 / 5 stars

It's difficult for Hollywood to capture any biblical story with a great degree of both sound theology and cinematic expertise. The closest I've ever seen was Mel Gibson's Passion of the Christ. I came away from Paul: Apostle of Christ wishing Gibson had directed it.

The film is rated PG-13 avoiding any gratuitous violence, but a more realistic portrayal of persecution would have given it a greater impact. People need to see, not just surmise, the horrors of 1st century persecution.

Theologically, Paul: Apostle of Christ avoids any clear presentation of the gospel. In short, it either assumes too much or purposely seeks to limit evangelistic overtones. You could easily come away thinking John Lennon's "All You Need is Love" encapsulates the film's message. The movie miserably fails to go far enough in connecting love with the vicarious sacrifice of Jesus on the cross.

You could easily come away thinking John Lennon's "All You Need is Love" encapsulates the film's message.

I was also a bit disappointed with references to Paul's letters, which lacked any awareness of inspiration or authority. Paul's writings seem to be nothing more than a source of encouragement to those suffering for Christ. However, I did appreciate the way Paul's final letter to Timothy was brought into the story.

From a cinematic viewpoint, the movie drags when it needs to flow. I agree with Los Angeles Times critic Robert Abele who wrote, "A few minutes of thriller-like tension early on gives way to a lot of tediously scripted scenes of whisper-acting that rarely breathe life and humanity into what should be a potent turning point story in a religion's history." However, I must say there are a few scenes that adequately communicate the emotional power of these historic events.

Overall, I managed to stay awake for most of the film. Though I went from being bored to being moved at the end, I wish this film would have lived up to the truth behind the story; at least a greater depth of gospel truth. It is an artistic portrayal of biblical events that obviously fails to project the reality of those events in their true depth of meaning.