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Judgment

2001, Movie, NR, 105 mins

Judgment: Review

This talky, pro-Christian religious thriller from the company that created LEFT BEHIND (2000) combines historical fiction with biblical theorizing, and is clearly intended to attract a secular audience. In the not-so-distant future, fascistic messiah Franco Macalusso (Nick Mancuso) has brought peace to a contentious universe. To maintain his vise-like grip on the brainwashed populace, Macalusso brooks no disagreements from zealots who believe in the right to personal freedom, particularly freedom of religious practice. With the cooperation of ambitious D.A. Victoria Thorne (Jessica Steen), Macalusso hopes to discredit imprisoned religious activist Helen Hannah (Leigh Lewis) by convicting Helen and her followers of blowing up a school bus in a carefully rigged show trial. Thorne forces Helen's ex-lover, Mitch Kendrick (Corbin Bernsen) — whos' still reeling from the state's execution of his father, a minister — to present the defense. But instead of following Macalusso's scripted proceedings, Mitch puts God on trial for misleading Helen. Mitch panders to Macalusso prodigious ego by offering him the opportunity to convict God Almighty of crimes against Macalusso's New World Order. The deck is stacked against acquittal, but Mitch must regain his faith and bring justice into the kangaroo court primed to convict Helen. Can he outsmart Macalusso and Thorne or will he have to rely on allies in the Underground Resistance to stop Helen's martyrdom? This undistinguished melodrama camouflages its Christian fervor with secular suspense and it's bearable both as propaganda and as a not-too-demanding thriller. But atheists and agnostics — not to mention non-Christians — won't much care for its conviction that Godliness is the solution to all the world's problems. leave a comment --Robert Pardi