In the eyes of god, they’re all equally stupid.
Before getting under way, allow me to preface the
cinematic crucifixion to come by plainly expressing that I mean no ill will to
people of any religion or faith, Christian or otherwise.
The movies on today’s
docket are simply terrible works put together by incompetent people, in some
cases, demonstrating an ignorance or inconsideration of the world that they
live in. In no way do these bad eggs represent the majority of their religion.
I would be giving the same criticism to any one note portrayal of a single sect
of people at the cost of demonizing those around them.
In the case of “Left Behind” however, that ignorance
is overshadowed by a film faced with the problem less of being preachy and more
of being terminally boring.
Nic Cage gives, what may quite possibly be, the
deadest performance of his entire career as flight captain Rayford Steele, a pilot
who must land his plain with little communication from the ground when the
Rapture occurs, leaving his daughter to wander through the madness of the
masses after her brother and mother disappear along with a larger percentage of
the human population.
Our heroes struggle through this 50 minute plot for
an excruciating hour and 45 minutes of editing that had less effort put into it
than a network television production, as their punishment of staying on the
sinful earth is carried due to the Rapture’s oddly specific targeting of
children and anybody with a day planner, intent on going to bible study, but
not people regularly demonstrating heroic personalities and selfless attitudes.
Not people of strong character that happen to hold differing faiths though;
they need to be taught a lesson about not accepting Jesus into their hearts no
matter how much they seem to uphold what he stood for.
Unfortunate implications and laughably bad editing
aside however, the biggest sin of “Left Behind” is that it’s just agonizingly
dull. Calling the plot of this film stretched out is an understatement
proportionate to saying Hitler was mean. I’m not even sure if the movie was
half-assed so much as it was just incomplete.
Even Cage can’t save the endless expanses of
nothingness that comprise the movie. In fact, seeing him clearly forcing
himself to work where he obviously doesn't want to be only makes the extra hour
of the film that could have been trimmed harder to watch.
If nothing else though, “Left Behind” is far more
tasteful than “God’s Not Dead.”
In a world where Christianity seems to be the key to
basic human civility, an arrogant psychopathic atheist college professor forces
his student to professionally debate the existence of god for the well being of
his passing grade after he refuses to renounce god at his instructor’s demand.
Meanwhile a Muslim girl interested in the teachings of Christ is beaten by and
disowned by her father, an Asian student fascinated by Christianity is accosted
by his father and told to focus on his studies, and a liberal blogger gets
cancer all while this young man fights the judgmental powers that be around him
for the opportunity to hold his faith while learning.
“God’s Not Dead” isn't so much a movie as it is a
text book example of straw man argumentation from an empowered majority that
seems to believe that society’s move towards diversification is a war on their
way of life.
For the sake of brevity, I’ll ignore almost
everything wrong with the main conflict dealt with in the college, both because
even low level professionals could instantly write a book about the numerous
things wrong with this scenario existing in the first place, much less being
carried out beyond a 2 day period, and frankly, if you believe that Kevin Sorbo
is even remotely playing a human being, let alone a passable example of the
average atheist, you’re probably in the film’s demographic and wouldn't heed much of the criticism of his role any way.
Rather, what truly ground my gears past the point
of disgust and into downright hatred is how disgusting its intention of making out
“the other” as a force of oppression or danger that Christianity feels the need
to save its “faithful” from.
As mentioned above, “God’s Not Dead” desperately attempts
to put up an uplifting face; a tale of overcoming crisis of faith to be justly
rewarded at the end of the trials with a beautiful and worthwhile glimmer of
light despite all of the cold and harsh darkness of the world. However, never
does it once offer a levelheaded view of its opposing viewpoints, which only
makes its efforts to use college professionalism as a device to compellingly
argue its stand points all the more laughably childish.
It’s quick to portray not an overview of Asian
culture but a stereotype of their strict professionalism as something that is
overbearing and unable to compartmentalize matters of life from business. It
covers the life of a Muslim girl whose father seems to view her as the apple of
his eye yet doesn't miss a beat to smack her, drag her outside and throw her
out of his own door without even a hint of discussion or understanding in the
present or future of the film. And I won’t even dignify a response to a liberal
news reporter that is apparently on the pathway to a prestigious press career,
yet uses Wikipedia as a professional research platform. That one practically
writes itself.
The one note portrayal of struggling minorities in a
cartoonishly negative light in an effort to make a majority feel better about
themselves while closing off the discussion of how we should accept one another
as human beings in favor of assimilating other cultures into their own is not
only disgustingly backward but was entirely unnecessary.
There’s a sub plot within the film about an African
minister visiting his fellow colleague and close friend within the church in
United States, coming across several highly relatable frustrations of life,
public transportation and business bureaucracy that are mostly highlighted in a
comedic manner and perfectly encapsulate what the film should have been about.
It may not have been entirely original but the charm and chemistry of the
actors could have made it work for a 90 minute feature, demonstrating how
regardless of the world’s determination to keep you down, things can work out
if you just hold your head up high and keep your faith in check. It was the
only section of the film remotely bearable and there’s not enough of it to go
around.
“God’s Not Dead” may not have been the worst made
film of 2014 but it is undoubtedly one that I detest the most.
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