Countdown: Jerusalem (2009 Video) User Reviews

Hard to Follow - no plot, very little words.

[billydeeoz · 2/10 · 8 April 2009]

This movie is very hard to follow. The plot is so hard to follow that you don't know what is going on most of the time. Very few words are actually spoken and you find yourself trying to guess what is going on. I'm a Christian and I know a lot about the Bible and what they are trying to tell. At least the Left-Behind movies have a great plot. if you want to see a good movie about the "End-Times" watch those movies.

The acting wasn't bad at all, except for the lead character (this may have been the due to bad direction). The cinematography was not bad, either. Music is good. It's just such a bad plot and/or direction that you never know what's going on! One phrase in the movie says: "You need to connect the dots." For some reason, the makers behind this movie expect the viewers to connect the dots. I'm sorry, that should not be our job! if I wasn't a Christian, I wouldn't have a clue about what this movie is trying to say! Bad movie, don't wast your time on this!

Did very little for me, but I have seen much worse

[TheLittleSongbird · 3/10 · 13 September 2012]

Curiosity got the better of me which was what made me see Countdown: Jerusalem in the first place. I was expecting little as it was from the notorious The Asylum. Actually compared to Titanic II, Transmorphers, AVH:Alien vs Hunter, 2010: Moby Dick and Alien Origin it is not as terrible as those and some of their other efforts. Some of the acting is decent, there are some good locations and the effects are actually while not great among some of the better ones in quality from The Asylum. Music was also not so good, but at the same after watching it didn't stay in your head very long. However, the stock footage and the lack of extras makes it all too obvious of how low in budget Countdown: Jerusalem is, while the direction is lazy and the lead actor very bland. Countdown: Jerusalem is a badly written film, with trite dialogue, badly underdeveloped characters and a story that feels so disconnected and convoluted with no suspense or thrilling moments and the religious aspects did feel rather heavy-handed. So all in all, The Asylum have done much worse and I have also seen worse, but Countdown: Jerusalem still did little for me. 3/10 Bethany Cox

Don't waste your time

[mr-aquarius · 1/10 · 26 May 2013]

Simple and straightforward: The end just fell flat. Now, if they had built the plot so that we cared about the main character, that would be fine. But, the filmmakers' inability to build suspense is what completely drowned the whole thing.

In her attempt to find her daughter, the main character relies on the help of a variety of people in the U.S. and Israel. None of the actors were at all engaging, and the only one who actually seemed to be able to portray true emotion was the hotel clerk. He may have been my favorite character. The appearance of all the other characters seemed more random than mysterious.

There have been other comments regarding the inaccuracy of how Israel was portrayed in this film. If the settings and the people of the Middle East were maligned by the filmmakers, then that's an even greater shame upon this cinematic waste of time.

You're better off watching re-runs of your favorite TV show that you've seen ten times already than waste your time on this film.

Religion and entertainment don't mix

[Wizard-8 · 7 June 2010]

When I read the DVD box of the movie, I saw that it was made by "Faith Films", which gave me a big clue as to what the quality of the movie would be like. (Let's face it, most movies made by religious filmmakers are pretty bad.) Had I known before watching the movie that Faith Films was an offshoot of the notorious studio The Asylum, I would have had an even better idea of what I was going to witness.

To be fair, this Christian movie doesn't keep hitting the viewers' heads with "messages", instead for the most part by taking the portion of the Bible that deals with the last days and handling it as both an unfolding mystery and an end-of-the-world movie. Though if you are not familiar with what the Bible says about the last days, you will be confused by several parts of the movie. Even if you are familiar with the Bible, there are still a number of non-religious parts of the script that are confusing! For what was obviously a very low budget, the filmmakers managed to do some things well. It's decently shot, the CGI is pretty good for a cheapie movie, and they managed to shoot a lot of the movie on authentic Israeli locations. But the low budget keeps showing throughout, with liberal use of stock footage and scenes with no extras in the background.

The main problem with the movie is that there's no spark to it. Although the acting isn't awful, there's no passion, no conviction to the words the actors speak. The unfolding story moves extremely slowly, and there's never any excitement, tension, or thrills.

While this isn't the worst effort by The Asylum, it's still pretty dreary and cheap. I bought this movie and three other Asylum movies in a 4-movie DVD pack for just $5, and though this movie's share is $1.25, I still feel ripped off.

Another terrible movie... the religious point is not even a problem now...

[Maz-hell · 1/10 · 3 July 2018]

It is an Asylum film. With Nazis at the center of the earth and Sharknado I know I should not expect a good movie. Funny, brainless films are the seal of this company. This one is horrible even by those standards (none).

I had no moment of entertainment: The dialog is bad, the screenplay is bad, the deus-ex-machina (machinas? machinus? machini?) are bad, the acting was kinda trying, the audio was so overly imposed that you could barely hear the dialog, the plot is astoundingly incomprehensible... Only one or two scenes are kinda redeemable and both of them are completely inconsequential.

This movie even have a 35 minute sequence that adds absolutely nothing. When almost a third of your movie can be skipped with you losing nothing you know you have a bad movie.

Say yes to drugs if you want to watch this movie. Yes to all the drugs.

pretty much worthless

[Quinoa1984 · 1/10 · 18 October 2009]

I rented Countdown: Jerusalem as a fun-bad movie. Maybe I would get some totally ridiculous machines or things that kill or some wretched dialog and performances to mock, like the Day the Earth Stopped (also released by Asylum video). But no, this shouldn't be confused with a 'pedigree' piece of s*** like a C. Thomas Howell movie. No, as I should've known better, this is from Faith Films, and the feature debut of A.F. Silver (nay another film on his IMDb resume - dare I ask what the follow-up is?), and it has nothing of value for bad-movie fans. Nothing. There's barely a laugh to be had, except maybe for the dialog exchange from Kim Little's Alison: "The phone lines are down. Mark called."

All you need to know (or all I really knew watching) is this: woman's daughter is taken by husband to Jerusalem, and she spends the movie looking for her. That's it. Oh, and there's a bunch of fuzzy scenes of "Peace in the Middle East" being broken down by earthquakes and, um, no peace in the Middle East. It's not even a movie that has enough guts to really go down its kooky plan. It's another lump of cinematic mediocrity where you almost can't hate it (almost the key word) since it's a transparent production. The acting is of the worst popular tripe, its methods are sloppy and its conclusions highly questionable (like, um, the world ends and the daughter is found? this isn't a spoiler per-say, I'm still trying to figure out what happens). When a movie is so bad it becomes mock-proof, you might as well torch it and leave the metal scraps for the garbage disposal. Oh, and did I mention Alison's looking for her daughter? YOU NEVER HEAR THE END OF IT!!

Where did this bull come from?

[mindspec · 1/10 · 9 April 2009]

Sorry to say but I've never seem something so far from resembling Israel, as this movie is.

Let's start with the fact that we don't ride camels here. We have the same cars as in the USA or Europe. Secondly, we don't live in a desert of sand nor does Israel look like an Egyptian market from year 1300. The movie found a dozen of old, preserved spots in Jerusalem where they preserved the ancient city and presented it as if that's how Israel looks like. Kind'a like shooting a movie in the grand-canyon and saying that the USA is one big desert!

The shots of soldiers and police were also fake clips and the siren sound was taken from some 3rd world country because police sirens in Israel are identical to US sirens.

Needless to say, the hospital and other places simply don't look like that and the hotel shot seems to have been taken in Bombai rather than Israel.

I really advise that you browse through the internet and see how Israel really looks like before thinking we're riding camels and dig for roots to earn a living.

As for the plot - it was one of the most silly, stupid, racist and prejudiced plots I've ever witnessed, distorting reality and combining clips taken from totally different contexts into an imaginary dictatorship that simply isn't even logical.

A real stinker!

Not sure what this movie is supposed to be...

[ltdarkstar · 1/10 · 26 February 2021]

I would ignore marbleann's review for this movie as they don't seem to "get it" and used the review function to bash "right wing Christians".

As a Christian myself, I see many inaccuracies in the movie as well as an incorrect focus. The movie focuses on a reporter trying to find her daughter (whom apparently has been raptured). Instead of focusing on the mom being saved and how believers will struggle with persecution in the end times, this movie just meanders around, not making a lot of sense most of the time. I couldn't tell who those "watchers" were really supposed to be? It's like they tried to cram a spy movie inside of a Christian movie and the whole thing was a hot mess.

The Tribulation they showed just an earthquake and a few other things and treated it as a "minor side-plot" that really had no effect on the main character who focused her time on running around going "where's my baby" for 99% of the movie. Boring and pointless.

Quite without merit

[Leofwine_draca · 1/10 · 22 April 2018]

Undoubtedly the worst film that The Asylum have ever been connected with, COUNTDOWN: ARMAGEDDON is a faith-based end-of-the-world disaster flick in which the world is being gradually destroyed by a series of natural disasters. Into this mayhem comes a woman searching for her missing daughter, aided by a man who might or might not be an angel. This was made by Faith Films, and unsurprisingly turns out to be concentrated on delivering a pro Christian message. It's thus worthy and dull, lacking even the usual CGI assisted mayhem of this genre, and quite without merit.

The end is nigh, from the beginning onwards

[SplatDcat · 2/10 · 25 April 2021]

Is this a Scientology movie? Weird religious undertones.

Please Read before Renting or Buying-Disappointment ALERT

[camsanda1900 · 1/10 · 19 July 2009]

The movie title as well as the movie summary was completely misleading. I have seen The Omega Code as well as all the Left Behind movies and this movie was in no way similar. This movie was disappointing on EVERY single level. How do you try to tell a story based on Revelations and leave out what it is truly about. The plot was not there, I felt as if I had to search for it myself. A reporter is suppose to seek the truth but throughout the whole movie, she ignores everything. This was truly a movie that could have and should have been kept in a locked vault. If I didn't understand God's word about the end time, I would be left to believe that there was nothing serious about it. To me, this movie made a mockery of the Judgement and brought no understanding or redemption for those who were looking for it. I will agree, it was not preachy but it also gave no accountability for desire to seek God either.

Good and really bad

[salolli1 · 6/10 · 21 February 2009]

Countdown: Jerusalem is a pretty typical apocalyptic thriller. It is well made in the sense, that it kept me entertained for the whole 90 minutes. The story is about woman who loses her daughter and how she tries to find her, simple as that, and a little bit about how the world in going to end. So it is made by and for those, who live with God. It tries to teach great divine moral, but finds only confusion. And it's Godliness is, well let's say, quite interesting. The evil is not anymore the UN but EU, I think, it is one of the many things that, I suppose, the makers, when trying to keep the plot mysterious, did not enlighten us viewers enough, which is normally a good thing, but me being a outsider in their world, would have liked an explanation what is the truth according to them. So it is entertaining, the plot is like a fast train if you don't mind the absence of logic, and, for them who don't take the world too seriously, amusing. The one's who pray a lot, might find it also meaningful.

I am an Israeli...

[sdasadsafaew · 1/10 · 2 August 2010]

i saw many movies in my life, obviously i cant remember all but there something like a non-formal rating score - this is the worst movie i ever seen in my life! i swear!!! its pathetic, i mean it was literally spending 90 minutes. its obviously a low budget movie - you can see it in like 60-70 percent of the scenes, the repetition of cheap effects and the sounds of the siren and the choppers and the bombs its all disgusting and much more. but except the money issue, it has no idea or point, it not rational - there's many not reasonable issues and situations and occurs, some of them so obvious and so explicitly not based on reality that its make you sick and outrage... its has no coherence, or any logical cohesion. the so wrong and messed and pathetic attempt of these people (i cant call these things actors) to speak Hebrew or live and Israeli mentality is so failed that for my opinion they should be arrested for that it was really sad and forlorn - i seriously cant remember any other movie that the amount of the repulsive "eeeeww" face that i had is even get close to this one's count... seriously people it's the most nauseating long video i ever seen ad i put my money it will be yours too.. i am still shocked... its just a really really really bad long video.. you gonna waste 90 minutes of your life which is what i already did...

Do Not Fool Yourself

[marbleann · 12 April 2014]

This is not a Pro Israel movie. Nor is it a action thriller. This movie is a right wing crazy Christian movie. And I want to quantify this by saying I am not talking about your everyday Christian. I am talking about the ones who believes the world is going to end 2 years ago or 4 years ago or 10 years from now..

See they believe Armageddon is going to happen in the area which is now Israel. That is why they seem so sympathetic to Israel, but not really. You see that come out in the movie.

Is the movie about the condemnation of violence in Israel? Or are they just worried about those temples? Even in the beginning of the movie while the main character is making a report we are focused on this Temple which is crumbling. Surly a metaphor. You hardly knew it was a earthquake if they did not tell you. So they are focusing on the Temples, where Jewish people worship. She goes to Israel and the same thing. The US is kind of mealy mouthed about defending Israel which is odd.

So this is the premise of the movie in a sneaky way. Because the Crazy Christians believe that the end of the world is going to happen in that area they want to make sure all of the Jewish people are gone and the ones that are left have accepted Christ. It is all through the movie. Even on the airplane. The ex sends some guy named Joseph that looks like St Joseph to watch over his ex wife. We are in Israel and we see no Hebrews worshiping we just see Christians Jewish people. I just thought the whole movie was a mess.

The child was never kidnapped she was raptured. That is why she disappeared in clear air. And she ends up in Israel looking for her. Then they try to make it look like it might be about some type of spy movie because of the husbands job. I looked at the movie thinking it was one of those so bad they are good movies syfy puts out all of the time. Instead I get a bible lesson from some Crazy Christians.

It's not about the End, it's about Now

[twa1959 · 5/10 · 12 April 2009]

If you're expecting to see a film similar to the Left Behind series, you may be relieved when I tell you it isn't. After watching, you more than likely will be disappointed, confused or just plain "what the heck did I just witness" bewildered. I figured this would be another clichéd and cheesy take on the Book of Revelation. I waited for the human cardboard cutouts representing good and evil, the haunting Gregorian chants building into grand crescendos as various plagues assaulted the earth, and the obligatory voice-overs telling me in stern and reverent tones how every scene was depicting a fulfillment of Biblical prophecy. None of those things ever showed up in this movie. Left Behind this is not.

Our brave reporter is not interested in digging beneath the headlines of earthquakes, famine, social upheaval and economic collapse to find the diabolical conspiracy responsible for it all. Nor is she embarking on a quest to discover the elusive answers to her hectic and unfulfilled life. She just wants to find her missing daughter. And her frantic search takes her to Jerusalem, now the focal point for the unwinding of the age.

The End Times are certainly in evidence throughout the film, but as a backdrop only. If the plot seems confusing, even non-existent, it's because the plot is not about the coming Armageddon. It is not about following the clues, exposing the imposters or circumventing the events that surely must and will unfold. It's about realizing that the signs signal the end for some but not all. The signs also tell us there is still time to do the only thing we can do to be spared the judgment that fallen humanity deserves.

A great film this is not, but neither is it a particular bad one. It is a film that handles its subject matter in a quirky and non-conventional way. It comes at you from an angle rather than slamming into you head on. The acting is average but does not detract significantly from the film. The dialogue is sparse, but at least I was spared the agony of having the characters repeatedly explain the whole darn story to me through lengthy and unrealistically structured dialogue. The cinematography was pleasing. The locations were usually well shot and added to the overall frenetic feeling of the film. The musical score was good but occasionally overwhelmed some of the scenes. Only one major complaint: I am not all that familiar with the geography of Israel, but what was up with her getting out of the car in the middle of nowhere (a desert) and walking all the way back to her hotel?

All in all, not a bad way to spend 90 minutes. This is not a particularly good Christian "witnessing" film, too much is left unexplained, and there is no obvious central message. But Christians should find this film intriguing, even a little thought provoking.

Not a good movie. A complete SHAM. Avoid at all costs.

[nick-2355 · 1/10 · 31 August 2009]

If you are a Christian, and a follower of great Christian movies such as the Left Behind Series, Fireproof, or many many other greats, you will be very disappointed, to say the least. This awful movie features a nonsensical weak plot, wishy washy and biblically watery and very weak, filled with time-wasters like unexplained journeys through the desert with pretty sunsets, and stereotyped Jewish people with camels and Arab names. All the while the plot goes absolutely nowhere. It is literally painful to watch. It is clearly a complete sham "Pulp Christian" movie purely designed to attempt to make easy money of the "Christian movie market". There are so many things wrong with this movie that it defies description. No continuity from any true faith based Christian perspective, moronic, flowery (and incorrect) King James style English recited in prayers that is quite laughable and truly ridiculous. It is as if the very worst writers from the Hollywood B grade "garbage-movie" set tried to sit down and with absolutely minimal knowledge of Christianity, biblical fact or even history, write a movie that would somehow sell to Christians. The writers and producers should be truly ashamed of this piece of worthless garbage. If you look you will see it is made by a new company called "FAITH FILMS" which is an offshoot of "THE ASYLUM" film company which incidentally makes the lowest form of brainless B grade "sex and drugs" films for teenage markets, like "SEX-POT" about kids smoking special aphrodisiac weed that somehow makes them all rip off their clothes and have sex. This all is brought to you by Hollywood scumbags trying to make money from persons of faith, while peddling mind rotting perverted garbage to your children. In other words, a total sham. Don't waste your time or money on this.

Huh?

[DebraIonaVogel · 1/10 · 31 August 2020]

Had I not read the trivia and reviews here, I would have not known this was a religious movie. Or supposed to be...

I would have thought it was just a failed action movie with a muddled plot.

No actual religious points of view, so it wasn't preachy...just vague. I taught Sunday school and still had no idea what the ending meant.

Even Kirk Cameron would have been confused.

Biblical,Yet Scenic Thriller/Faithful Christian Effort !

[guestar57 · 5/10 · 23 February 2009]

COUNTDOWN: JERUSALEM Faithfilms.cc With- Kim Little & Clint Browning Meaningful, Thought provoking and explains some things in the news. A news reporter has to deal with what could be the end of structured humanity.

Is it Rapture ?, Could these disasters be man-made somehow ? What is logical conclusion to A HOLY WAR ?

In a departure for FAITHFILMS, This was half filmed in Jerusalem, Actually on location.

Kim Little does the job as " Everywoman" in crisis and Clint Browning, Who may be an Angel, Helps her make sense in a illogical, Political-laced message of a movie.

It came across as anti-Israel

[dtlongo · 3/10 · 5 November 2013]

I approached this movie "cold" not knowing anything at all about it but just browsing one evening on Netflix. Previous reviewers have skewered it. What troubled me and unmentioned by others is that it came across as anti Israel or at least patronizing toward Israel. As a non-deist (athiest) I have my own reservations about deist states be they Israel, Saudi Arabia, Iran or would-be Christian fundamentalist USA. But whether or not you like it, Israel exists and is there to stay. The scenes of Israel/ Jerusalem being rocketed, bombed and shot up by some coalition of a New World Order were too much for my taste. I sensed that those scenes would appeal egoistically to Israel-haters. On the plus side the lady protagonist was nice eye candy from the side and rear. And some of the Israel-cinematography was appealing and interesting.

OH no Poo poo

[jacobjohntaylor1 · 1/10 · 18 August 2019]

Come there is a war going on. And all we are supposed it care about is some reporter trying to find her daughter. Come on. Worst movie do come to mind such has The Godfather. The Godfather part II and The Godfather part III. But is came pretty dame close to being has bad.

Oh, the irony...

[johnrjohnson · 1/10 · 17 September 2023]

It should surprise no one that these kinds of so-called "Christian" films are saturated with mayhem and suffering. The Bible is filled with it. Viewing this particular film almost 15 years after its release was as painful as I anticipated. Not sure why COMET decided to air it. I'd rather watch X-Files reruns I've seen a dozen times. Christian-filmmakers get away with this sort of junk because their audience is pre-disposed to loving it no matter how amateurish or obscurant it happens to be. In fact, they like the insider-nature of these films and the little biblical nuggets they think heathens miss. In the case of "Countdown: Armageddon... orJerusalem" or whatever they want to call it, the grand finale of the film is an example of excessive artistic restraint, which depends way too much on the viewer to fill in the blanks left by a director likely adorned with a beret. The final scene actually looks like someone from another production has mistakenly wandered onto the set. Yeah. I'm not a fan of this film, or its genre.

Countdown to the end of this film could not come soon enough

[Chase_Witherspoon · 1/10 · 1 February 2024]

'Countdown Jerusalem' (or as I saw it 'Countdown Armageddon') is a spiritual drama about a woman's journey to the Holy Land in search of her missing daughter, feared abducted. Contrary to the title, this is not an action movie. Nor is it a thriller. It's just an abysmal bore. Several missed opportunities for suspense early in the picture (due to poor framing and camera position) are a sign of a things to come before the film takes its misguided spiritual turn, firmly cementing its place in cinematic purgatory.

Somewhere along the way we learn that a religious sect is trying to bring about political unrest in an effort to hasten the apocalypse. This epic concept is then vaguely interwoven with the missing child sub-plot and her mother's pilgrimage to find her. It really doesn't add up, although perhaps it's designed to appeal at a 'higher level' of perceptiveness that I couldn't grasp. Factory favourite Kim Little plays the desperate mother, and April Wade gets stiffed helping her with the initial desktop search early in the picture, but there are no recognisable (marquee) names to sell this dud.

Despite other comments to the contrary, Christian themed films can be entertaining when - like any other good motion picture - they've a solid plot, are technically sound and feature engaging performances. 'Countdown Jerusalem' is unfortunately bereft of those elements which is why it's consigned to the junk pile. The bait and switch title also doesn't foster much sympathy when you realise you're enduring a spiritual awakening and not an action movie as the misleading title would otherwise suggest.

A solid B movie

[floydcollege · 3 July 2011]

A good movie in general. If you liked the 'left Behind' series you would probably like this movie. I wouldn't buy it BluRay, but Netflix or $4 for the DVD would be OK. It takes place in Israel. It's about a kidnapped daughter The mother works with US government to secure a flight She meets a guy on the plane Things get interesting There is some sort of a peace accord. A solid movie. It's about a kidnapped daughter The mother works with US government to secure a flight She meets a guy on the plane Things get interesting There is some sort of a peace accord. A solid movie with a B feel, not acting, to it. Enjoy it, I know I did.