The Encounter: Paradise Lost

I love the guy who plays Jesus in this movie and the first Encounter movie. He has the greatest smile and is extremely believable in the role. I think it's so great that real Bible Christianity is finally being taught here. A Christian heroin addict dies and they show that she goes to heaven. Of course she would. Does the Bible teach that taking drugs is a bigger sin than the sin of doubt, worry, fear or lying, and no one doubts that those sins will keep you out of heaven. Thank goodness the blood paid for it all! I didn't mind the violence so much because, why sugar coat real life and the problems real life Christians face everyday!

I just watched Paradise Lost and, I admit, I cried a few times. I liked it just as much as the first (maybe even a bit more). The conclusion was a lot better than the first. I know that the characters were different from the norm of what you'd see at an American cafe, but each character represented the experiences of multitudes of people around the world: empty and addicted to drugs, believing that...pain is an illusion/that through thousands of lifetimes, one can get redeemed, selling drugs to get rich, sold into sexual slavery, full of bitterness, sadness and despair/losing one's faith due to loss of a child or loved one, etc. Good to see David A.R. White playing the role of the police officer in Thailand. That Jason Statham-esque scene was well-coordinated by the way!

I can't say it was a bad movie. I just can't say it was an original or good movie. I think that's what disappoints me with it.

The original Encounter was like a parable. I didn't take it literally, and the simple staging worked well with the metaphorical presentation that made you think about you and your personal relationship with your savior. This one drowns in scenery and detail. We have the Boxing Day typhoon in Thailand as history. We have a whole background story of action from a mafia movie, the drug dealer, the cop, etc. We have the lush and lovely background of Phukett, Thailand and those beautiful beaches. Worst of all, we have the not at all well done fight scenes. All of that distracted from the beautifully simple message of the original.

Bruce Marchiano (The Encounter), David A. R. White (Jerusalem Countdown, In the Blink of an Eye), Robert Miano (Donnie Brasco) Riff Hutton ( JAG) and Gary Daniels (The Expendables) star in this explosive, challenging sequel to the faith-based sleeper hit The Encounter.

A retiring drug smuggler (MIANO), his drug-addicted wife and his ruthless bodyguard (DANIELS), find themselves trapped by a suspended DEA Special Agent (WHITE) at a Thai resort owned by a troubled former Wall Street investment banker (Hutton) and his wife, who mourn the loss of their only son in a devastating tsunami. It is an explosive mix of personalities. Violence looms, but a mysterious guest, claiming to be Jesus Christ (MARCHIANO), arrives to offer each of them one final chance at redemption in this inspiring, thought-provoking thriller.

The first Encounter done two years before this one had something that I liked which was, one of the characters gets to challenge God with some really mind bogging question that many of us today would really like to ask, the question was "if God is love, then why did he order a genocide, by telling the Israelites to kill all living thing in Canaan?" This second Encounter mind bogging question was, "If it pains God so much to see innocent children die; why does he not stop it?"

Like in the first the mind bogging question was answered not with skill of words but by saying the truth according to the scripture.

The Encounter: Paradise Lost has the same bad cinematography as the first and a longer wait time till we see Jesus. I don't think this movie is anywhere as good as the first because it lacks the innocent adventure that the first movie possesses.

Wrapped around the tsunami that hit Thailand in 2004, this movie's weak script and less impressive acting made it hard for me to keep awake while watching; I thought the cinematography in the first was bad, well because the first was shot in a confined area I didn't get to see a full dosage of what the cinematographer could dish out, well due to the success of the first movie the makers used more scenery and lot more cast and all we have is a washed up story that at the end I learnt nothing.

The movie plot is broader than that of the first, it goes on for like 38 minutes before we get to the Jesus character, when we do see him he is again in an enclosed area with people this time there are 6. A couple who just lost a son, a drug dealer, his henchman, the drug dealer's wife and a police officer chasing down the drug dealer.

The character Jesus comes into play and tries to save everybody, but like the first movie not everybody got saved and death which resulted from not following Christ also came to play in this film.

The acting was more a mediocre than the one in the first, the movie lacked of good actors and the man who played Jesus (Bruce Marchiano) was like a king among slaves when the acting is considered. This movie is what makes many people stay away from independent films, badly produced, story line is weak and the movie itself is just boring with a capital B.

Many great producers came about from making independent films, but this producer needs to go back to the drawing board and give us a better story. I wish I could un-watch this movie.

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