Rating of
0.5/4
Obvious, Harmful Propaganda
Unknown - wrote on 05/29/16
'God's Not Dead' is the perfect representation of this newly morphed sub-genre of religious films being pumped out multiple times per year by the same independent studio. The regressive agenda of these films is so astoundingly easy to read on the surface, but this one is a particular offender. We are presented with a collection of (not so interconnecting) sub-plots surrounding the main plot. These include: a pushy journalist blogger with spiteful opposing viewpoints who contracts an incurable form of cancer halfway through and decides to convert on the basis of illness and her absolutely despicable narcissistic boyfriend dismissing her entirely after she tells him, a Muslim American girl with a strict father who (out of nowhere) hits her and throws her out of the house for thinking about converting to Christianity, an Asian American boy whose father is also strict about his faith and also wants to convert, and two pastors who have a "comedic" situation involving faulty vehicles. Guess which of these sub-plots is the only one to actually be resolved? The funny mishap with the cars, of course! The rest are present, but never followed up on whatsoever. Their only purpose is to reinforce this non-existent persecution mentality the filmmakers want to bestow on their target audience. That's still not half of this film's problems. The usual bad writing, acting, and directing in all of these 'PureFlix' failures is prominent, adding a layer of unintentional comedy. However, the cardinal sin being committed is in the form of the film's main plot. A fresh college student sets out to prove God's existence in a mock debate run by his cartoonish villain-esq Philosophy teacher. So much dumb, illogical setup is used to force this debate into fruition. Even though not a single damn thing is accomplished by the end of their long quarrel, the film still decides a clear winner because of it's obvious objective from the start. What's worse is that this phony Atheistic adversary feels defeat and comes to the conclusion that he just has a grudge against the all-mighty for the death of his mother. His redemption? He dies, of course! But not before converting on his death bed - helped by the complete coincidence of the pastor's appearance on the scene. Meanwhile, all the other characters happily converge onto the same Christian band concert, ending the film with a positive song. 'God's Not Dead' sends a terrible message of self-richeous exclusion built on offensive, un-realistic stereotypes and has no contempt for the intelligence of it's close-minded target audience. Seriously, F*** this movie!
