Anyone ever seen this film?

No, I haven't, but I've heard it is far better than the first two. I haven't had any desire to see it because of how poor the first two were and how poor most "christian" films are. I am very disappointed in the "christian" and "family" fare available today. For some reason christians are afraid to spend the money necessary to get quality people working on a project.

My personal opionion is that if you give the audience a great, high quality film, with a message in it they will be more willing to hear the message than if you give them a cheesy film and shove religion down their throat like they are an animal uncapable of taking the information for themself. Unfortunately the "christian" and "family" film industry has developed a name for itself that makes it almost impossible to get people to seriously listen to ideas of high quality, "wholesome" films.

Sorry for taking this thread a little away from the "World At War" film directly, but I think it is related information. I've been told the film is better than what we've seen in the past, but I'm not holding out high hopes. Please let me know after you've watched it...hopefully I'm wrong.

Peace,
Larry
 
I agree 100% Larry... the Christian film market is just terrible... I wish good stories and productions were made in that market... they would be just great! Hoping this film is better than what I've seen before.
 
Larry R said:
My personal opionion is that if you give the audience a great, high quality film, with a message in it they will be more willing to hear the message
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It's that kind of thinking that made Mel Gibson one of the wealthiest men in Hollywood. :thumbsup: I'm surprised that more filmmakers haven't followed Mel's lead.
 
Ok, I watched it. It's MUCH better than the other two films, but it still is a very awkward and poorly done film. Technically it shines on occasion, but can we get a clear focus please? (shots kept going out of focus the whole film, unless I am losing my vision!) The dialogue was again very, In your face, Here's the gospel, kind of deal. The acting of Kirk Cameron and Lou Gossette Jr (Who played the President) was great! The President's conversion was very realistic and moving. I guess those two things don't bring the film back to a good standing with me. The cinematography and poorly written dialogue was too distracting for me. It was a very unbalanced film. Anyway, there's my review.

I hear they're making part 4! Please spare us... or have me write the script.
 
Thanks for the review...it sounds as if my fears were right.

Why do Christians feel the need to do things on the cheap? I understand that we are not to be frivolous with our money, but if God is who we say He is don't you think He can afford a high quality production? And I mean this in every aspect of ministry, not just these low-quality, cheesy movies.

The reality is, the Christian movie industry has consistently turned out such poor fodder that they are now only selling the films to Christians. Doesn't that kind of defeat the purpose of the "preachy-ness"? What good does it do to tell people they are lost and going to Hell, if those people are already Christians?

It's ok to not always make a film 75% preaching in order to make it a successful Christian film. In the beginning, while restoring the industry we should be making films that deal with every day life. How do I live as a Christian, establish friendships with those around me, affect their lives in a positive way, and when they see me live my life out before them they just might desire to know more about what I have. Let's deal with the issues that Christians need to deal with on a day to day basis, since they are the only ones watching.

Then when others start to see that the films are top quality, and I mean "Hollywood", or better, quality and that the content is meaningful then more people will begin to watch. Then there will be the opportunity to add more to the stories in the future, but even then it can be done without turning the film into a fancy, expensive, illustrated sermon.



Whoops, sorry...stepping off the soap box now. Hey, great review. Thanks for letting us know how it turned out.

To be honest, in regard to your comment "...or have me write the script."; I, personally, wouldn't want any part of the franchise at this point. It's a mess and nobody cares any more. We lost the audience of the world after the first one.

Just my $0.01 9/10 :)

Peace,
Larry
 
I agree with everything Larry. Thing is... they spent 17 million on this film! C'mon! I could have kept focus better than their DP did. LOL! Yeah, and about the 75% sermon thing... That's not realistic. Anyway... thanks for the reply Larry... the rant was a good one.
 
It's not about how much money was spent, but how it was spent. Where the money thing get's messed up with Christians, in my opinion, is they get hung up on the idea that we are to be good stewards with our money - which they incorrectly translate into don't spend too much. But they end up getting less than the best and then spend more to try and fix the problems that come up.

$17MM isn't a lot of money for top quality film these days, but it could still have been used to produce a top quality product. They brought in a good director for this project, but his experience is television. They brought in name actors for the project, but didn't write believable dialog for them. Its not quantity of money that counts, but quality of product the money buys.

The 75% sermon thing was an exaggeration, for sure...but it was for a point. Most Christian films focus on the "preach the Gospel" element and forget that there is real life going on around them.

I think their is a move in the right direction (Mel Gibson, for example) and it will be a slow process...it's just frustrating sometimes, waiting for it.

Peace,
Larry
 
It actually looked okay in the trailer...sort of.
So the first two were THAT bad, eh? Hmm, makes me want to check them out just for the fun of it...
 
In response to your comment Larry, I agree 100%. The money wasn't used the best way possible. I think 17m is plenty to make a GREAT film! I think 100k is plenty to make a GREAT feature! It's all about the story and dialogue, which this film lacked (not in so much the story, but specifically the dialogue) because they wanted it to be SO gospel that it just fell flat.

You are right, there is hope... Mel Gibson's film was incredible on all levels, and it was amazingly succesful. I am very puzzled as to why others have not taken after him and done something like that.

I think the budget for Passion was 40 mil. Not a big budget either, by Hollywood standards. But the money was well spent and translated to an incredible film.
 
If you haven't already, you guys should check out Saints and Soldiers. If for no other reason than to see what a couple of church kids did with just One Million.

It's stuff like that that will change the landscape for you guys. Not Hollywood, and not Mel Gibson.
 
briceman said:
I am very puzzled as to why others have not taken after him and done something like that.
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Fear?

It takes some guts to do a project like this, and money will mostly have to come out of one's own pocket.
 
krestofre said:
If you haven't already, you guys should check out Saints and Soldiers. If for no other reason than to see what a couple of church kids did with just One Million.

It's stuff like that that will change the landscape for you guys. Not Hollywood, and not Mel Gibson.
Click to expand...

I'll check it out.
 
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