Alicia I love this movie so much

SpuffyWeb Sadly Over-hyped

FuzzyTagz If the ambition is to provide two hours of instantly forgettable, popcorn-munching escapism, it succeeds.

Kimball Exactly the movie you think it is, but not the movie you want it to be.

IOBdennis I too am part of the large group who think this made-for-TV movie is a disaster. I lasted longer than most, however. I actually watched all but the last hour of Part 2. Eventually, I couldn't take more of the same thing. It was beautifully filmed, but the acting was so wooden, the story so dull. What was with Cote de Pablo? Was her expression painted on? And I think it is Mido Hamada who has one of the most forced smiles I have ever seen. Showin' off new choppers, Mido? Finally, Sam Neill was so disappointing in this role. But the character is such a boring one to begin with. I shouldn't fault the actor with simply delivering what was given. I found the way the story was presented to be thoroughly confusing. I couldn't get interested in the characters, and the minute I started to "get" one of them, the plot switched to another character, and I was out in the dark once again. Now, don't get me wrong. I like an "adult" drama, maybe even verging on soap opera, but this one is a prime example of poorly written, acted, and directed schlock. At the start of the last "love in the cistern" scene, I actually broke out laughing. And in one of them, the continuity was so bad, I grimaced: the actors kept flipping from left to right side of each other with absolutely no transition or movement whatsoever. Was this supposed to be some artsy filming? Because it looked kind of deliberate, or I should say, blatant. Didn't work for me. What was the point?

smilee_1 It was definitely not an action show ,but a drama, with much narration. Hard to follow at points and slow in others. I am glad I did not pay to see this at the movies , even Sam Neill was dry. Roma Downey & Mark Burnet take yet another step further away from presenting a good Christian story,( i.e. their Bible and A.D. stories toning down the divinity of Jesus and leaving out Satan claiming to such things because they wanted it family friendly, but this movie is not) full of fornication. I lost track of all the adultery ,out of wedlock sex and children born out of wedlock. Like a day time soap. Shame...but it is obvious they have plenty of "water" around...

bbriddell I watched because my family members were watching. We had just finished watching a good show; and I wanted to continue engaging in social time.I stopped watching part 1 about 5 minutes from the end. It may have had some kind of story and it seemed like other than the story being told was important to the Romans for posterity; I'm not sure why? This Romance Novel even went as far to tell the audience their formula; when the Roman tells them, "I use my head to think not my heart". So, men use their head and women use their heart. Seriously, pen to paper for this story back in this time frame? Moreover, typing on a keyboard today for this twaddle? Women in bright outfits, like jewels in the desert. Handsome strapping men. Throw some magic/witchcraft in. I'm not sure if there were any Zombies in part two, they did have a ghost from the grave in part one. They had the money, time, and everything else; so my conclusion is best summed up by Forest Gump, "Stupid is as stupid does."

televisionseriesreviews When I first heard that Revka was left out of this story, I was slightly disappointed having read the book by Alice Hoffman beforehand, but after watching only a few minutes of Night One it became clear that this mini-series is only inspired by the book, and although it has all other leading characters, Shirah, Aziza and Yael it does not follow the same pattern.Night One begins with Shirah (Cote de Pablo) and shortly after Yael (Rachel Brosnahan) being interrogated by Josephus (Sam Neill). As the plot unfolds it soon becomes clear that Shirah and Yael are the only survivors remaining in Masada, and they are there to tell their story to Josephus who in exchange for the truth will grant them their life. As they begin relating each of their stories and describing how they entwine we are introduced to the other characters.Yael describes the turbulent relationship she always had with her father Joseph Bar Elhanan (Manuel Cauchi), for causing the death of her own mother at birth. This is were we see the connection between a young Yael (Maia Attard) and Shirah, who is hired as her nursemaid. We then get a glimpse of Shirah's love interest, Eleazar Ben Ya'ir (Mido Hamada) who is married to another woman. Having committed adultery, Shirah who is pregnant with Eleazar's child is cast out of Jerusalem and sent to the desert to die.Next we are introduced to Amram (Diego Boneta) who is Yael's brother. Yael describes how Amram together with another few warriors initiate an attack on the Romans who are trying to invade Jerusalem. The Romans rebel and at Flavius' (Sam Hazeldine) command begin killing all the jews. Yael and her father, who are soon followed by a large crowd decide to flee from Jerusalem which is now up in flames.Shirah recounts how Sa'adallos (Andrei Claude), a wealthy and strong man from Moab saved her and the child, Aziza (Kathryn Prescott) after she was exiled. Sa'adallos married her and raised her child, Aziza as his own. Although later Shirah and Sa'adallos have a son together, Adir (Andre Agius), Sa'adallos decides to train Aziza to be an able warrior like himself. Despite of all the good that Sa'adallos has done, for which Shirah claims she was grateful,she decides to escape from the Moabite village, and together with Aziza and Adir returns to Jerusalem, believing that her fate is to be with Eleazar. Along their journey we discover that Aziza is in fact a girl, who has been disguised as a boy by her mother in order to protect her.Meanwhile, Yael and her father continue their journey towards Masada, where they will reunite with Amram. Along the way a one of Amram's fellow Sicarii, Jachim Ben Simon (Luke Roberts) who is married to an older and frail looking woman, Sia (Marama Corlett) initiates a passionate affair with Yael.Finally Yael and Josef arrive in Masada and are greeted by Amram. Shirah, Aziza and Yael begin working together in the Dovecote. An intimate relationship develops between Amram and Aziza, which Shirah disapproves of, while Yael seems to fall in love with a slave (Diarmaid Murtagh) named Wynn who is held captive in Masada.As the Tenth Legion approaches and set camp right outside Masada, fear begins to spread amongst all the people. It becomes evident that the Romans are now too powerful to defeat, and rather than retreating and becoming slaves to the Romans, Eleazar orders a mass suicide.This is a great story about love, betrayal, courage and fear, with a cast that is diverse and interesting to watch. The editing and SFX is impressive. The acting is also very good. In the last scene, when their story reaches a climax, Shirah and Yael are set free by Josephus. Even before the credits begin rolling, I could only wonder where Shirah might go and what she will do, now that all the people in her life are dead, all except Sa'adallos actually, as I can only assume that Adir's life wasn't spared. Would she go back to Sa'adallos after what she did? That would be an interesting sequel to watch.