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- 2019
- Def Jam Recordings
- 31 m
- 2019
- Def Jam Recordings
- 31 m
Summary Filmed in the summer of 2019, Jesus Is King brings Kanye West’s famed Sunday Service to life in the Roden Crater, visionary artist James Turrell’s never-before-seen installation in Arizona’s Painted Desert. This one-of-a-kind experience features songs arranged by West in the gospel tradition along with new music from his forthcoming albu...
Directed By: Nick Knight
- 2019
- Def Jam Recordings
- 31 m
- 2019
- Def Jam Recordings
- 31 m
Jesus Is King
Metascore
Generally Favorable
61
5.6
Summary Filmed in the summer of 2019, Jesus Is King brings Kanye West’s famed Sunday Service to life in the Roden Crater, visionary artist James Turrell’s never-before-seen installation in Arizona’s Painted Desert. This one-of-a-kind experience features songs arranged by West in the gospel tradition along with new music from his forthcoming albu...
Directed By: Nick Knight
Top Cast
Metascore
Generally Favorable
Based on 4 Critic Reviews
61
50% Positive
2 Reviews
2 Reviews
50% Mixed
2 Reviews
2 Reviews
0% Negative
0 Reviews
0 Reviews
Metascore
Generally Favorable
Based on 4 Critic Reviews
61
50% Positive
2 Reviews
2 Reviews
50% Mixed
2 Reviews
2 Reviews
0% Negative
0 Reviews
0 Reviews
For an artist who is committed (for better or worse) to always putting out the purest and most unfiltered portrait of who he is and what he believes, the main problem with documenting this particular moment in this way is that it goes by far too quickly, when it’s the first he’s created in a long time that has the potential to truly change hearts and minds — and best of all, not even solely about Kanye West himself.
Equal parts reverent and narcissistic, humble and grandiose, this Nick Knight-directed curio is both a tribute to the Lord and a testament to West’s unparalleled ability to get in his own damn way.
User Score
Mixed or Average
Based on 55 User Ratings
5.6
55% Positive
30 Ratings
30 Ratings
4% Mixed
2 Ratings
2 Ratings
42% Negative
23 Ratings
23 Ratings
User Score
Mixed or Average
Based on 55 User Ratings
5.6
55% Positive
30 Ratings
30 Ratings
4% Mixed
2 Ratings
2 Ratings
42% Negative
23 Ratings
23 Ratings
It reminded me that religion and pop and fascism each revels in uniforms and shared, shouted praise. But it didn’t make me feel all that much.
Nothing about the film is especially coherent, including its simultaneous status as a piece of art, a gesture of religious conviction, and a shameless act of commerce. It feels like notes from an artist who’s not sure if he wants to express himself as a worshiper or an object of worship — but who’s prepared to give it a try anyhow, on the biggest screen possible.
Jesus is King's success for you will solely depend on your honest views of Kanye West himself as the film leans on both sides of praise as well as criticism.
If you like Kanye for his visual presentation, Jesus is King will satisfy that need. There are some stunning wide shots of the Sunday Service group within the art installation Rodden Crater. The choir as well sound amazing together and the IMAX format makes you feel the echoes of the acoustics of where they recorded.
If you don't like Kanye and find his work pretentious with no reason behind it, Jesus is King won't change your mind either. The film lacks any real backstory of Kanye's train of thought in the film, which is severely needed in this era of his. There are many shots that feel like it's leading to a larger narrative, but ultimately don't go anywhere.
Whichever way you may swing with Kanye, it's still worth a watch in IMAX. Maybe you will feel the praise or maybe you won't. It's all open to you as the viewer.
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The lyrics on this album are absolute nonsense. Kanye says that he has to charge high prices for his clothes and shoes or his family will starve. When he said he was doing a gospel inspired album I thought it was gonna be a bunch of stuff that sounded like Jesus Walks. Instead it was a bunch of bizarre vignettes that didn't really say anything. I think Kanye is trying too hard to please people who are never going to accept him. Most of the beats aren't even that good. 2/10 because the one with Ty Dolla Sign and the one with Clipse and Kenny G were good tracks.
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