In the previous film, the Rapture (from the Bible) has occurred and two FBI agents were investigating. By the end, each was left in less than desirable situations and we start off with both of them getting into further trouble as the world has become a dystopia run by some sort of “Global Alliance.” One is busted from jail and finds a group of Christians in hiding, and the other is blackmailed into seeking out that same group and revealing their camping location to Alliance bad-guys.
This is unmistakably a Christian made film meant to promote Worship ideals and practices. Now, I don’t want to be misinterpreted (or misunderestimated for that matter) when I criticize it. Religious groups have every right to convey their ideas in any media form, but I had a real hard time buying the idea that Christianity would become the religion that is banished to the underground, only to be practiced in secret. In the North American society that I live in, where the Law would have you swear on oath of truth on a Bible, I cannot picture Christianity being seen as rebellious and so easily rejected from those in complete power…and I’ll stop that tangent right there before things get more opinionated.
Beliefs aside, this film is not all that convincing anyhow. The performances are not stellar, all the heroes look too clean, the villains look way too soft, there are too many groups too follow making the story incoherant at times, and everyone seems misplaced in both places of authority and radical rebellion (one dude had a tattoo…that’s as close as they could get). Most every scene transition has some sort of rise in score or sound effect, such as a trailer might have, which continuously kills any momentum it hardly had to begin with as it desperately tries to make things seem all the more dangerous and epic when they are not.
The one convincing portion I witnessed was a nicely performed rant about feelings of vengeance while trying to forgive by the religious leader who was leading the camp of rebel Christians. It alone stood out but could not save the film because soon after we are subjected to a laughable showdown where our hero chooses faith over violence when facing our main evil soldier (who might have been the devil or a demon…it wasn’t clear), which is a noble concept, except other characters enter and things are resolved with violence anyways; which left a bad taste in my mouth. Here is what the film seemed to be saying to me: If you have faith, those filled with hatred will not win…for others will slaughter them, thus absolving your moral stance but still enabling you to have vicarious revenge. A bit too morally questionable and contradictory for me, especially with the film’s wickedly pro-Christian angle.
Video
Widescreen 1.78:1. Things look decent, albeit without any grit. Perhaps I’m a bit too accustom to the Mad Max vision of a post-apocalyptic world but its hard to become immersed in a film when people who have been hiding out in the desert for days, if not months, look as if they have a Wal-Mart nearby, keeping them supplied with shampoo and bland clothing.
Audio
Dolby Digital 5.1 in both English and Portuguese (same goes for the subtitles). The score is balanced decently in all speakers, though I did mention that they do overuse certain blasts of sound to make things seem bigger. Canned epicness (if that makes sense to you, then I take full credit for quoting it).
Special Features
Filmmaker and Cast Commentary: This film was made by a small band of people who often doubled as any combination of actor, producer, director etc. The commentary is decent as they reveal little secrets to how they got shots and tell stories about troubles they faced. The sort of stuff you’d want to hear. One story was a little off putting, as couple of them could not stop giggling as another told the story of how a vehicle they had rented struck and killed four robbers after leaving the set…it was really morbid to hear them speak of it so lightly.
The Making of…: Told in interviews with the majority of those behind the film’s creation. Again, pretty standard fair and plenty of praise for God.
Music Video – “Life Light” by Two Empty Chairs: A mediocre video for a boring rock song by some Christian kids.
Final Thoughts
This film is obviously preaching to the converted. If you are a believer, then it will do you no harm to view this. Otherwise, this will seem like its trying way too hard to make the Bible seem hip and rebellious.
