Witherington reviews The Gospel of John

Christianity Today have today published a review of The Gospel of John by Ben Witherington III:

The Gospel, Literally
A Break-through film makes the Word visible.
Reviewed by Ben Witherington III

I think Witherington gets this about right, especially over Cusick's performance:

There is a warmth and passion to Cusick's portrayal that is winsome and captures your attention, drawing you in. When he tells his first followers, "Come and see," immediately you want to do so.

Witherington is clearly a bigger fan of Jesus of Nazareth than I am, though, and he compares elements of that film favourably with The Gospel of John. Like Adele Reinhartz [para. 6], Witherington comments on the film's inclusion of Mary Magdalene among the group following Jesus. Like me, he also draws attention to the fact that the film does not identify the woman taken adultery with Mary Magdalene, though I'm not sure that that identification is so much a "mistake" as an inevitable, if regrettable, piece of typical Jesus film harmonizing.

Minor comments: I'm pretty sure Zeffirelli is spelt with two "f"s and not one.