Critic Reviews

Told with great earnestness and a Hans Zimmer score, The Bible hits only a few conspicuously awkward notes.

Much of this is tediously drawn out, with crazy fly-overs between Biblical Chapters that may make you think it’s “Survivor: Holy Lands,” which, of course, it is.... Things really pick up when Jesus shows up.

It often plays more like an action film than a serious interpretation of a holy book.

This is like dramatizing War and peace without commenting on war or peace. [11 Mar 2013, p.46]

This Bible probably won't offend anyone, but it's hard to imagine it will inspire anyone, either.

The Bible has the misfortune of looking cheap in comparison to the visual feast provided by the preceding Vikings. And the acting isn't nearly strong enough to overcome this.

I suspect that viewers who know the Bible well will be annoyed by "The Bible," while those who are casual students will be alternately mildly entertained and fairly bored. People with no religious beliefs probably won't watch anyway, but if they do, they could wind up confused or amused.

As is, The Bible sometimes feels too facile, like a colorful Sunday school pop-up book come to life, albeit one with much more graphic violence (which some parents might want to preview before sharing with their kids).

The Bible according to Burnett and Downey is a handsome and generally expensive-looking production, but it is also flat and often tedious, even when it tends to the hysterical, and as hard as the Hans Zimmer soundtrack strains to keep you on the edge of your sofa.

[A] cheesefest miniseries.