Shadowheart begins with a reference to Matthew 6:14 – 15. These two verses command people to forgive those who trespass against them as God forgives us for ours. We expect the film to connect somehow to this theme.
It never does.
In fact, there are so many murders (I lost track after eight), only a war movie could produce more. Yet of all the pointless mayhem, only one was justified or meaningful. If we were paying attention to the Bible verse at the beginning, no one was forgiven and therefore God should not forgive us.
Big Spoiler
Yet the very last scene shows the dead wife of James Conners, the main character, leading him through the white light to what lies beyond – presumably heaven. We expect to see something about forgiveness and we get pointless retribution.
I did not like this film not because of the violence. I think the Godfather Saga is a timeless masterpiece. I did not like this because it had Christian overtones. I think Fireproof is a good film that addresses the difficulties of modern marriage. Fireproof has many weaknesses, which a viewer has to overlook including what I think is an impossible problem to overcome. Still it's an interesting film. I disliked this film because it was disjointed. I disliked this film because it did not seem to know what it was trying to do nor where it was going.
I would like to say that there was some sort of redeeming feature, but I don't think there was.
I gave it a four because I kept hoping something coherent would happen. There was enough writing to create hope, alas never fulfilled.
It never does.
In fact, there are so many murders (I lost track after eight), only a war movie could produce more. Yet of all the pointless mayhem, only one was justified or meaningful. If we were paying attention to the Bible verse at the beginning, no one was forgiven and therefore God should not forgive us.
Big Spoiler
Yet the very last scene shows the dead wife of James Conners, the main character, leading him through the white light to what lies beyond – presumably heaven. We expect to see something about forgiveness and we get pointless retribution.
I did not like this film not because of the violence. I think the Godfather Saga is a timeless masterpiece. I did not like this because it had Christian overtones. I think Fireproof is a good film that addresses the difficulties of modern marriage. Fireproof has many weaknesses, which a viewer has to overlook including what I think is an impossible problem to overcome. Still it's an interesting film. I disliked this film because it was disjointed. I disliked this film because it did not seem to know what it was trying to do nor where it was going.
I would like to say that there was some sort of redeeming feature, but I don't think there was.
I gave it a four because I kept hoping something coherent would happen. There was enough writing to create hope, alas never fulfilled.