The King of Kings (2025) | Film Review

Not to get too personal, but despite my own evolution with ideas and beliefs, there is no story I remember more than Jesus’s journey. The grandson of a preacher, I attended church regularly and, while I preferred the works of Arthur Conan Doyle or Stephen King, this story of God’s son as he enlightened us mere mortals was engrained in my being. Therefore, walking into The King of Kings, I already knew what to expect, as do a large portion of the populace. The question was, can they give us anything new?

This fully animated take is directed by Seong-ho Jang, a notable visual effects artist. The King of Kings is based off the Charles Dickens short story, “The Life of Our Lord”, where Dickens himself offers this tale to his own son, Walter. The same beats occur in the film, opening with a turbulent showing of A Christmas Carol where Charles’s son, Walter, decides to allow his imagination to run buck wild over his fascination with King Arthur and the Excalibur legend, landing him a vocal lashing from his father. This leads to Charles (voiced by Kenneth Branagh) – with a push from Mrs. Dickens (Uma Thurman) – to relay to Walter the story of the one true king, Jesus of Nazareth.

The plotting of The King of Kings is simple, as it follows the story as many of you already know it, from Jesus’s birth until his crucifixion and eventual resurrection. The writers do interject Walter into the proceedings, overlaying the biblical conjecture with the wide-eyed pining of a child. It is a smart mechanic as it constantly reminds the audience that this is never meant to be Pixar’s The Passion of the Christ. This is a bible story suitable for children and digestible by the entire family.

To the story, it is relatively straight-forward. Though one issue with the script and the film itself is when it gets to Jesus on the cross (spoiler alert?), it feels rushed. The reasoning is sensible, as this is the most dire and tragic aspect of the story. Yet, I would also argue the most impactful and powerful. Children can manage death and despair, hell, that is half of Walt Disney’s early work. Softening these pieces to weed through to the mission statement of kindness and selfishness was a misstep in an otherwise enjoyable film.

The animation, while obviously not up to the mega-budgets of Disney or DreamWorks, is a solid effort. Though a bit spotty at times in the way that Walking Dead games used to look, overall, the characters and world are brought to life vividly in a unique rendering. The voice acting cast is equally strong with Pierce Brosnan, Forest Whitaker, Ben Kingsley, Oscar Isaac as Jesus Christ, and especially Mark Hamill (the best voice actor in the business) as King Herod.

The King of Kings is an enjoyable journey down the path of Jesus Christ with a narrative suitable for all ages. There is a lovely element of familial bonding and a moral message of sacrifice for the greater good, how is that anything but inherently positive? Is it the greatest story ever told? I suppose that is for you to decide.