The similarities between Jim Caviezel’s Edmond Dantes and his character of Jesus in The Passion of the Christ (2004) are uncanny. From the fact that each character is nearly saint-like (at least in the beginning of this film) to the undeserved whippings over the course of the film, I cannot imagine that, when preparing to cast someone in The Passion of the Christ, this film was was not considered before officially casting Caviezel. Aside from the interesting similarities, I thought that Caviezel, in general, did a fantastic job in this film. The best acting came during his time in prison and his interactions with Richard Harris’ Abbé Faria (who, whenever he spoke, I could not help but to picture Albus Dumbledore). These two characters took a situation in the film that is beyond tragic and managed to successfully lighten the mood and make the audience feel good about what was taking place. This was a story of devastation and loss as well as a story of finding oneself and revenge. So much happened to the main protagonist in this film and I thought that the story, at no point, felt rushed. Director, Kevin Reynolds, along with writer, Jay Wolpert, took a classic piece of literature and turned it into an outstanding film. I, however, cannot comment on how well the novel was adapted into film as I have never read the novel. I was pleasantly surprised by how much I enjoyed this film as I expected it to drag on and lose my interest quite quickly--this, obviously, was not the case. My sole issue with this film is that no one recognizes Dantes after his return halfway through the film. It truly annoys me that people, who were incredibly close to him at one point, are completely blind to the fact that this man from their past is standing right in front of them. Again, however, I did very much enjoy this film; I was captivated from beginning to end. https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0245844/?ref_=nv_sr_1
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