God's
Not Dead 2
This
movie made me long for a chance to see Batman v Superman, again.
In a movie filled with all sorts of people who used to be famous (that
other guy from Ghostbusters is the judge!), Melissa Joan Hart stars as
Grace Wesley – a devout Christian and one of the best teachers at
her local high school. When a young student, Brooke (Hayley Orrantia),
who is lost in the world after the death of her brother, asks a
question in class comparing the teachings of Gandhi to the teachings of
Jesus, Grace gives what she feels is an honest, non-religious themed
answer.
Of course, this causes all sorts of controversy as the school tries to
force Grace into apologizing and the ACLU shows up trying to sue,
bringing a crazy media storm with them.
Will Miss Wesley be found in the wrong?
Don’t hate God’s Not Dead 2 because of its themes
and faith.
Hate it for being a stupid, horribly made movie.
Director Harold Cronk and writers Chuck Konzelman and Cary Solomon
attempt to fan the flames and passions of those who feel Christians are
being persecuted in this world by creating a strawman scenario too
simplistic to be taken seriously and full of too much stiff acting and
klunky screenwriting to be believed.
Poor Ray Wise, who portrays the ACLU attorney and lead villain in the
film, acts like and, his character is treated like, Satan incarnate.
Every twist and every piece of bad news going against Grace quickly is
followed by a close up of Wise being told by our director to smile a
Cheshire grin or devilishly react as if he had a pitch fork in his
other hand. It’s so over the top, Wise’s performance makes God’s
Not Dead 2 into an unintentional comedy. Maybe he could score the
Golden Globe for best comedy actor next year.
Then, the courtroom theatrics lack the kind of thrills you might want
from a good courtroom drama. This case does not have the gravitas nor
scholarly arguments of the Scopes Monkey Trial. It’s more like
the O.J. Simpson case full of bluster, misdirection and
meaninglessness.
There is a good movie to be made about faith, what children should be
exposed to by those in authority and how we can have open discussions
of all viewpoints, but this is not that movie, even if Orrantia shows
she might be the best member of the cast with her natural, likable
performance.
In the end, God’s Not Dead 2 simply goes to prove that
the following co-stars are not dead – Pat Boone, Jesse Metcalfe,
the other guy from Ghostbusters and Robin Givens.
God’s
Not Dead 2 is rated PG for some thematic elements.
108 Minutes
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