It looks as if Mel Gibson is overdoing his efforts at rehabilitation. News that he is planning to direct a film about the life of Judah Maccabee, a Jewish warrior from the second century BC, has been greeted with some suspicion.

Abraham Foxman, national director of the Anti-Defamation League, said: “Judah Maccabee deserves better. It would be a travesty to have his story told by one who has no respect and sensitivity for other people’s religious views.”

That may be so. But, if Gibson's work on Apocalyptois any guide, it could be a cracking movie.