Comunidade Sagrada

or faith. a film with, at the first sigh, a very precise target. and this fact impose to ignore the artistic value or the presence of Eric Roberts and Stephen Baldwin. the warning about the anti-Christ mark, control of masses, the fight for freedom, the way of Damascus and the links between very different men. nothing original. but, in same measure, it is more than a religious film. its political message could be, for a part of public, more important. because it is the illustration of the old war between state and citizens. sure, not used in the right manner but useful for serve the idea. the conspiracy theories, the fear about the last days, the need of hope, the memories about lines from the book of Apocalypse. each is part of the idea who defines this film.

Its seems that most of the heavy critics of this movie have a problem with Christianity anyway and what in the world does the Bush Administration have to do with it? Basically one should realize that if its a "end time" Christian movie--expect bible quotes, prayer and good natured characters. I think the movie could stand improvement in its writing. Some of the attempts in humor was weak and I just have problems in attempts to create popular one-liners. Its one of those movies where you comment on how you would re-write that scene while its occurring. The mind control Nazi like soldiers are getting old also.

On a funny side, why would I want a Porche if it cant out run an old police car on straight roads? The driver says thats OK--we'll out run em on the hair pin curves. Thats why you need 150+ on the speedometer-- Folks just lighten up, have fun watching. If you don't like Christians and the their words "burn your very soul", don't watch Christian movies (duh) just as I don't watch movies with a gay theme because I don't approve of the lifestyle.

This movie is the secret love-child of a Jack T. Chick tract and one of those "heartwarming" Christian propaganda anecdotes that have been circulating on the internet since the nineties. You know, the ones in which a mean, cynical atheist makes fun of a poor, oppressed Christian using a pompous, verbose argument which sounds impressive because it contains big words, but doesn't actually make any sense, and gets his come-uppance when his "argument" is "refuted" by some emotive sound-bytes from the Christian.

There is in fact a scene exactly like this somewhere in the first half of the movie, which is all that I could endure before flipping to the end of the DVD to see if anything exciting happened. Nothing did.

As science-fiction, the movie is ludicrous and unbelievable. It sets up a completely implausible and illogical view of the future. Setting aside the gimmick of the "implant" (which has a powerful, magical effect on your *brain* in spite of being implanted in your *hand*), why is someone in a maximum security prison run by a society which apparently practices rigid censorship allowed to have a bible, supposedly a heretical work? Why are the prisoners allowed to decorate their cells with beautifully and neatly executed graffiti of biblical quotations? Where do they get their art supplies? How did the evil implanted stormtroopers manage to massacre huge numbers of people in armed attacks if they appear to value personal self-preservation above everything else, including *defending the very survival of their society*?

The evil society is simply not believable, because it is a caricature of everything that modern fundamentalist Christians disapprove of blended with symbolism from the Book of Revelations. Are we supposed to be disturbed by the drones because they are sexually promiscuous? With *gasp* partners of both sexes? Oh, noes! The horror! I bet they've also massacred half the planet!

If you are the sort of person who reads those chain letters and thinks "Oh wow, that is such a well-reasoned argument! Let me forward this to everyone in my address book!" then you will probably adore this movie. If you are the kind of person who thinks "Who sent me this crap *again*?", then I suggest you stay away.

With such recognizable stars as Stephen Baldwin and Eric Roberts in it, Six, The Mark Unleashed has quite a bit more production values in it than you normally get from a Christian film. Note the producer is Paul Crouch, Jr. of the Crouch family of Trinity Broadcasting Network so it's not like they're short of funds.

The creative end of this film is Kevin Downes and David A.R. White who are the Ben Affleck and Matt Damon of the Christian film world. Note their respective credits, you'll find it almost exclusively in that genre.

Both of these two are getting a little old to be playing juveniles although Downes has quite the baby face, just like Matt Damon. They're a couple of petty criminals who get caught with some stolen items, but more important than that, they're caught with a counterfeit mark. The mark of course is the mark of the anti-Christ and it's a computer chip planted for thought control. That's an automatic death sentence.

In prison they're tossed in with Jeffrey Dean Morgan who neither buys into the thought control of the world 'Leader' who's come to power or with the Christian apocalyptic theology. He's a former cop and that makes him a good candidate to infiltrate the Christians and kill a new 'prophet' with the shegetz name of Elijah Cohen. Morgan's ex-wife Amy Moon dreamed up this assignment. Morgan escapes with White and Downes who has now become a believer. The rest of the film is what happens to the three of them.

Baldwin and Roberts lend their names to this project in strictly minor roles for box office. Usually these films immediately go to the Christian television circuit with a limited if any kind of run on the big screen.

If you're a believer this film is better than average, if you're not the story will be silly and trite. Reviews for these kind of films are wasted because the audience is a built in one, dictated by religious beliefs. Kind of like a Star Trek movie in that way.

an useful film. for Christians and, in same measure, for the searcher of answers in crisis period. useful for discover a great problem in Christian circles debates and its solution. so, for large part of its viewers, the film is far to be a Sci. Fi. but a predictable script. as Greek Orthodox, I am not the fan of manner to present the problem - in Protestant way - but it could be one of forms for remind the prediction from New Testament. so, it is only a Protestant movie with its virtues and, for a part of public, its errors. a good movie for message. but it only presents but not has the ambition to convince. a film who reminds many black utopia but, in same measure , the word from Apocalypse. a film who reflects many social fears of last decades.