First, a disclosure: I am being paid a nominal amount to provide a review of this movie. I intend to make my review as honest as possible, but I wish to disclose this potential conflict of interest. Also, be aware that when I am paid to review a movie, I watch it with a more critical/analytical eye than I might otherwise.
Next, a warning: This review will contain some spoilers. I will try to make them as mild and and as vague as possible consistent with getting my points across.
I really wanted to like this film. This movie seems like it should be custom made for me; I am both a Christian and a science fiction fan, and have long wished that there were more entertainment available that incorporated both genres. Unfortunately, the movie did not live up to its promise.
When a film is truly touching, it tugs at your heartstring; but when it tries too hard to be moving, it just makes you feel that it is trying to manipulate your emotions. I regret to state that this film fell into the latter category: It used every cliché in the book, from schmaltzy music to the father clutching and crying over the doll of the daughter he accidentally got killed. The abrupt transitions between the comedic and tragic scenes also resulted in a bit of emotional whiplash. (And all of this is within the first ten minutes.)
While all of the characters seem somewhat two-dimensional, it was especially disappointing that the only Muslims depicted were of the stereotyped throat-splitting, torturing, Christian-hating, terrorist variety. This problem is only slightly lessened by the token inclusion of the narrator/protagonist occasionally saying things like, "Don't be hating or judgmental on Muslims, Ahmed is an extremist." One simple way to solve this problem would have been to have made one of the scientists on the protagonist's team a Muslim.
Then there is the problem of point of view. The entire movie is supposed to be a re-telling by the protagonist of his experiences. Given that, there should be no scenes depicting events of which he himself is unaware. Instead, there is a plethora of them.
Any movie which has Jesus doing and saying things that are not in the Bible ventures into risky territory. The writers chose to have Jesus speak with a time traveler and they put words into His mouth. The film-makers also presented a Crucifixion scene unlike any other I have seen. Any details I would give would be too much of a spoiler. I'll suffice to say that I expect some people will very much appreciate it while others might be offended by the liberties it took. I have not made up my own mind about these two scenes. For me, though, the bridge too far was the film's interpretation of the angels at the empty tomb.
There were also several other problems with the plot or the writing which I won't go into here.
On a more positive note, some of the humor was enjoyable, the acting was serviceable -- a bit too broad for my tastes, but in keeping with the type of film it is. The production quality was impressive, considering the small budgets that most independent Christian films possess.
I think that this movie might go over very well with an audience much younger than myself: People who (like me) enjoy science fiction but who (unlike me) are still inexperienced enough with movies and with life in general that they need to have things painted with a very broad brush. I am guessing that twelve years old or so would be the perfect age: The viewer would need to be old enough to understand the concepts of time travel and alternate timelines, but young enough to appreciate the schmaltz for what it is and possibly need to have the fundamental concepts of time travel (such as alternate timelines and the ethical dilemmas) explained in detail. I would have put the ideal age as being a couple of years younger, but the movie contains some violence that would not be appropriate for a younger audience. Examples of violence include beheadings and people being shot. (The film-makers do take care to avoid showing blood or gore, but the scenes might nevertheless give children nightmares.) If you are a parent of a pre-teen or young teen, I would encourage you to vet the film first to determine your thoughts on it before possibly having your child(ren) see it. And if you do watch it as a family, be prepared to discuss the film with them.
As I said before, I really wanted to like this movie. I had high hopes for a science fiction movie that did not look down on non-atheists. And knowing that I would be paid to write a review made me want to be able to write a glowing one. As it is, all I can say is that while there were parts of the film I did enjoy, it is not a film that I could whole-heartedly recommend.
Next, a warning: This review will contain some spoilers. I will try to make them as mild and and as vague as possible consistent with getting my points across.
I really wanted to like this film. This movie seems like it should be custom made for me; I am both a Christian and a science fiction fan, and have long wished that there were more entertainment available that incorporated both genres. Unfortunately, the movie did not live up to its promise.
When a film is truly touching, it tugs at your heartstring; but when it tries too hard to be moving, it just makes you feel that it is trying to manipulate your emotions. I regret to state that this film fell into the latter category: It used every cliché in the book, from schmaltzy music to the father clutching and crying over the doll of the daughter he accidentally got killed. The abrupt transitions between the comedic and tragic scenes also resulted in a bit of emotional whiplash. (And all of this is within the first ten minutes.)
While all of the characters seem somewhat two-dimensional, it was especially disappointing that the only Muslims depicted were of the stereotyped throat-splitting, torturing, Christian-hating, terrorist variety. This problem is only slightly lessened by the token inclusion of the narrator/protagonist occasionally saying things like, "Don't be hating or judgmental on Muslims, Ahmed is an extremist." One simple way to solve this problem would have been to have made one of the scientists on the protagonist's team a Muslim.
Then there is the problem of point of view. The entire movie is supposed to be a re-telling by the protagonist of his experiences. Given that, there should be no scenes depicting events of which he himself is unaware. Instead, there is a plethora of them.
Any movie which has Jesus doing and saying things that are not in the Bible ventures into risky territory. The writers chose to have Jesus speak with a time traveler and they put words into His mouth. The film-makers also presented a Crucifixion scene unlike any other I have seen. Any details I would give would be too much of a spoiler. I'll suffice to say that I expect some people will very much appreciate it while others might be offended by the liberties it took. I have not made up my own mind about these two scenes. For me, though, the bridge too far was the film's interpretation of the angels at the empty tomb.
There were also several other problems with the plot or the writing which I won't go into here.
On a more positive note, some of the humor was enjoyable, the acting was serviceable -- a bit too broad for my tastes, but in keeping with the type of film it is. The production quality was impressive, considering the small budgets that most independent Christian films possess.
I think that this movie might go over very well with an audience much younger than myself: People who (like me) enjoy science fiction but who (unlike me) are still inexperienced enough with movies and with life in general that they need to have things painted with a very broad brush. I am guessing that twelve years old or so would be the perfect age: The viewer would need to be old enough to understand the concepts of time travel and alternate timelines, but young enough to appreciate the schmaltz for what it is and possibly need to have the fundamental concepts of time travel (such as alternate timelines and the ethical dilemmas) explained in detail. I would have put the ideal age as being a couple of years younger, but the movie contains some violence that would not be appropriate for a younger audience. Examples of violence include beheadings and people being shot. (The film-makers do take care to avoid showing blood or gore, but the scenes might nevertheless give children nightmares.) If you are a parent of a pre-teen or young teen, I would encourage you to vet the film first to determine your thoughts on it before possibly having your child(ren) see it. And if you do watch it as a family, be prepared to discuss the film with them.
As I said before, I really wanted to like this movie. I had high hopes for a science fiction movie that did not look down on non-atheists. And knowing that I would be paid to write a review made me want to be able to write a glowing one. As it is, all I can say is that while there were parts of the film I did enjoy, it is not a film that I could whole-heartedly recommend.