Rating of
0.5/4
More Obvious, Harmful Propaganda
Unknown - wrote on 05/29/16
'God's Not Dead 2' manages to be just as stupid and offensive as it's predecessor, maybe even more so. I knew what to expect going in and all of those expectations were met with the highest level of displeasure. We are treated to another round of ill-conceived, harmful propaganda targeted with searing intent at the wallets of it's oblivious (hopefully small) demographic. We have a new central plot at work, but a couple of returning characters from the first show up only to pad the runtime. The cancer stricken convert has now been cured of her "terminal" illness through prayer. I'm sorry, but that's not how you get rid of an incurable disease. Her story is now resolved and she can go on to do... absolutely nothing here. The Asian kid from the first returns so that his situation with his father can play out in the exact same fashion as the one between the Muslim girl and her father from the first film. No resolution, or point to their inclusion in this film, once again. Oh, and that pastor guy shows up again to reinforce the whole non-existent persecution syndrome by having the government regulate his sermons. It's just as absurd as it sounds. But the main story, and meat of the film's intentions, is the courtroom drama centered around a teacher defending her use of religious references in a classroom. The entire proceedings are a joke. Not one ounce of actual courtroom logic is at play. Of course, most all movies stretch believability to make a courtroom feel more dramatic, but that is taken to a whole new level here. First off, the teacher was completely in the right from the beginning. She was not forcing ANY of her personal beliefs onto the students much like the real-life cases that the film points out. Second, she is given the most reasonable offer by the school board without punishment immediately after the incident. This case would've never made it to court, and in the movie it didn't even need to. But we have to make her look as innocent as possible to drive the whole paranoid persecution mentality into the audiences closed-minds as hard as possible. Third, the ACLU prosecutors (who would be on her side in real life) are the cartoony Atheist "villains" this time, and dammit if they aren't hilariously over the top. One advantage this has over it's predecessor, and most PureFlix garbage, is the inclusion of some actual decent actors. Still not enough to override the usual terrible filmmaking craf. The separation of church and state is an issue that could've made for at least a decent court case movie. This whiny "Christian victim" agenda is an annoying presence that makes me afraid for what it instills in it's target audience. There are lines of dialogue referring to being "at war" over their religious beliefs with the government and even calling people "prayer warriors". If that's not a textbook definition of propaganda, then I don't know what is. As I stated in my 'God's Not Dead' review, F*** this movie!
