The Moment After

Who can stop this seemingly unstoppable end times merchandise bonanza? Bestselling books, comics, board games, movies, those tracts you find in bus station toilets, etc. It seems to be everywhere. And "The Moment After" is no exception. The film is about the "rapture" where all the Big Guy's followers get whisked off into the clouds and all non-followers are condemned to suffer. Sound like fun?

Despite what the film is advertising, the film is about as uplifting as a weekend with leprosy. The visuals are somewhat interesting too. The New World Order general acts like he has a 2x4 rammed up his rear end, gritting his teeth, with veins popping in his forehead. It's pretty enchanting. And torn out of the classic soul-searching textbook, the film ends in a cookie cutter el fin complete with arms outstretched in prison and praising the Big J. Cue the Bible verses.

No this film is not my cup of tea. And probably never will be. If I want to be preached at, I'll put up with one of those pesky Jehovah's Wittness' a-knocking at my door.

This movie picks up immediately after a phenomenon known in certain Christian circles as "the Rapture" has taken place. All true Christians have vanished from the face of the earth leaving all those left behind wondering what has happened to them. To get answers two FBI agents named "Adam Riley" (David A. R. White) and "Charles Baker" (Kevin Downes) are assigned the case. At the same time a young Jewish rabbi by the name of "Jacob Krause" (Brad Heller) also seeks some answers and after researching the Bible becomes one of the 144,000 witnesses for Christ as foretold in the book of Revelation. Meanwhile, life begins to change for the worse for everybody. Now, rather than disclose the rest of the story and risk ruining the film for those who haven't seen it I will just say that this is one of the better Christian movies dealing with this particular subject. While I don't believe it fully portrayed how difficult and chaotic things would be it does detail some of the prophesied events in an adequate manner. For example, in this particular movie the "mark of the Beast" is depicted as a small computer chip which is called a "B-chip" and is inserted in the right wrist. Be that as it may, I liked this film and I recommend it to all of those who enjoy movies in this genre. Above average.

It does start slow, The Moment After starts very slow and maintains this pace till the end. There is no wow moment, just a steady pace of people trying to find out what happened after Rapture has taken place. The movie is dull at first, but towards the end the message comes through and it strikes like a bullet, the words from the bible are spoken for a length reminding you to get your acts together for our Lord is coming soon.

If you are looking for a fast paced movie where stories and lives are intertwined in an all classic way, with main plots and subplots, then this is not the movie for you, but if you are one with a patient soul that does not mind a movie that keeps you waiting for like an hour till the message comes, then have a taste of The Moment After.

The Moment After is Written and directed by Wes Llewelyn. Due to its success, seven years later Wes Liewelyn directed (although didn't write) a sequel, named The Moment After 2: The Awakening (2006). This 1999 movie was a Crown Award Winner for Best Evangelistic Film and Best Drama film made for less than $250,000.

The movie plot is about the incident after the rapture has taken place; with millions of people vanishing from the face of the earth turmoil has erupted. Two FBI agents Adam Riley (David White) and Charles Baker (Kevin Downes) are placed on the case to find out from people in an area who witnessed the vanishing of their loved ones.

All to be later reassigned to go after a man who they believe is raising a paramilitary unit to fight the government.

The things I liked about this movie are 1. the soundtrack, the ending song, Crystal Lewis – People Get Ready Jesus is Comin was well placed it just suited the ending scene perfectly. 2. The cinematography, the level of the cinematography for this independent Christian film done in the 1999 was quite impressive; the camera shots weren't out of place. 3. The actors, the actors don't make you feel like there are paid peanuts for the job, they deliver the goods.

The Moment After as I said is slow paced, and can come off as dull but in the end the message is passed. This movie is not in the leagues of Fireproof (2008), Facing the Giants (2006), Courageous (2011) or The Encounter (2010), It falls below all these movies but it is a good enough reminder of what is to come for the more matured mind.

www.lagsreviews.com

Unless you're a devout Christian and want your beliefs confirmed, avoid this like the plague. The dialogue makes the old Dragnet TV show seem lively and realistic, people have the most unbelievable reactions to incredible events and even within the Christian viewpoint, the movie simply makes no factual sense. In the "damning with faint praise" department, I guess it takes a talent of some kind to make a movie about a supernatural event like "the rapture" and manage to wring all tension, wonder and drama out of it.

Truly awful movie that my wife rented thinking it was an actual sci-fi movie, rather than the di-fi (divinity fiction) it so clearly I and wanted to be.

The Moment After is once again a Christian conception of what will happen here on earth when the believer types are suddenly whisked out of this plain of existence to another dimension. As there is as much speculation about these prophetic events and some out there hold that the Rapture is not even going to happen, the writer's imagination can run wild with possibilities.

I don't think all that much imagination was put to use here though. The film focuses on two FBI agents, David A.R. White and Kevin Downes who are among the many checking out and filing all the missing person cases that have mushroomed all over the globe.

Pretty soon though Downes and White are put on the trail of a messianic Jew played by Brad Heller who when the Rapture does occur suddenly decides he's the guy looking to convert his people. The New Testament does say that before the Second Coming all the Jews in the world will be converted.

That makes him one dangerous fellow, especially to the forces of the world government who are not liking people like Heller. In fact Christians who didn't make the Rapture cut are following this guy as well.

The Moment After is a sincere, but rather flat attempt offer a future vision of persecution of Christians for spreading the word. The people behind the film are evangelicals, down to the players who are veterans of the Christian film genre. It all gets done so often. In fact as evangelical tools they can be suspect because the speculation varies so that if they are continually shown at churches, Sunday Schools and such venues, I wonder if it doesn't confuse more than uplift.