Kevin Reynolds, Baylor graduate and son of former Baylor President Herbert Reynolds, wrote and directed the movie “Risen,” which came out Friday. The film came in third at the box office its opening weekend.
“Risen” tells the story of Jesus’ resurrection through the eyes of a Roman solider, Clavius, played by Joseph Fiennes. Clavius is tasked with disproving rumors that Jesus had in fact risen from the dead following his crucifixion. Clavius sets out to find the body of Jesus with his aide, Lucius, played by Tom Felton.
“Risen is a new take on the New Testament story of the Resurrection.” Reynolds told JBWebTV. “It’s the Resurrection story told as a detective story.”
Reynolds graduated from Baylor in 1974 and Baylor Law School in 1976. Reynolds has worked with Steven Spielberg and Kevin Costner and has written and directed several movies including “Red Dawn,” “Fandango,” “Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves,” “One Eight Seven” and “Hatfields and McCoys.”
Dallas freshman Hannah Causey hadn’t seen Risen advertised anywhere but saw it after getting a recommendation from a friend. Causey said she loved “Risen” and said everyone should see it.
“There hasn’t been a movie like this since ‘The Passion of the Christ,’” Causey said.
Although students may know the story of Jesus and the Resurrection ,Causey said she thinks “Risen” puts it in a new perspective and is a movie Baylor students would really benefit from.
Waco freshman Franklin Karr had never seen Jesus depicted in a more real way before “Risen.” He enjoyed seeing Jesus laugh and joke with the disciples and thinks “Risen” did a great job showing Jesus as fully God and fully man. The movie made Karr think about aspects of the story he had never considered.
“[Risen]” showed Jesus and the Roman soldiers as humans, not just characters,” Karr said. “It showed how much people tried to cover up the Resurrection and how fearful they were of what would happen if Jesus really did raise from the dead.”
Torrance, Calif., sophomore Shannon Martin was impressed with the movie’s videography and character development, “Risen” was made in a way that helped her see the Resurrection as more real than she had ever thought of it before, she said.
“We say all the time that Christ rose from the dead, but I had never really thought about what that implied,” Martin said. “Jesus didn’t appear to many people, and that left a lot of room for doubt. It’s amazing how many people believed in what they didn’t see. Risen really captures that.”
