Revelation

A fine film on every front. Strong characters played by impressive actors. A suspenseful storyline that maximized the tension as the ending drew nearer. BUT... the biblical message was lost along the way. Two passages sprang to mind as I watched:

John 14:6 "Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me. "

Acts 4:10,12 "Be it known unto you all, and to all the people of Israel, that by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom ye crucified, whom God raised from the dead .... Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved."

Salvation comes through faith in Jesus Christ and in him alone. But "Jesus" was rarely mentioned. Believe in "God" was the repeated message. "God the Father" is one thing, but "God" is a generic term that anyone watching could make fit their preconceived ideas, whether or not biblically based. I was disappointed in the Lalondes and in both Jack Van Impe and John Hagee for allowing the film to go to release without a clear salvation message. Is this a "Christian" film or just a family-friendly action movie with a thin veneer of biblical eschatology as a plot point?

I recently re-enjoyed the original End Times tetralogy of films beginning with "A Thief in the Night" and running through "The Prodigal Planet," produced between 1972 and 1983. They were overtly evangelistic films that ensured nobody got through a film without hearing the good news of salvation through Christ clearly detailed. In "Revelation," the closest we got was the scene of Helen reacting to Thorold's shouted objections to God's perceived injustices--his mother dying of cancer, his family vanishing. Believe in God, have faith, was the milquetoast response Helen mustered. Nothing was said of Christ's redemptive death and of the free gift of salvation by grace through faith. The film fumbled the ball on this key play!

"Revelation" also made little attempt to inform the audience about the eschatological events unfolding on their screens. Those "Thief in the Night" movies set the bar high with lengthy exposition and with wall-sized charts and tribulation maps that provided the audience a crash course in premillennial dispensationalism. I understand not wanting to slow the movie's momentum to detail the seven seal judgments, but the most the Lalondes' film did was outsource the job to a couple Van Impe and Hagee clips that served more to set up the next scene than to educate the audience on End Times.

All that said, and setting aside expectations, I really enjoyed the movie, even if I would at best call it Christian-lite. Jeff Fahey was a compelling leading man, looking like a younger Mel Gibson coupled with the raspy voice of Clint Eastwood (with whom he co-starred in "White Hunter, Black Heart" a decade earlier). Fahey's a talented guy, one who can present himself as impenetrably tough, but then quickly drop the facade and reveal his vulnerability.

"I need your help. And my gun's real." I especially enjoyed the winning chemistry between Jeff Fahey and Tony Nappo, who played smart-aleck computer whiz Willie, confined to a wheelchair (which stirred memories of a similar character on the 1980's "War of the Worlds" series). Willie's John Wayne impression and having a dog named Elvis won me over to him immediately.

With that New Yawk accent who'da guessed Nappo's a Canuck? He fooled this former Long Islander into believing he was my homeboy! He even snuck in a Yogi Berra line about taking the fork in the road. And what a player, too. The flirtation between Willie and blind babe Cindy came across so authentic and I was really enjoying their budding romance until...! Let's just say guys who don't learn from the history of Adam and Eve and Samson and Delilah are bound to repeat it.

Leigh Lewis as Helen Hannah took a diminished role in this second film, but she nonetheless proved a pivotal player. Len Parker having her wanted poster on his desk was a nice touch, as was how the front-desk guard referred to her as a "big fish," implying her once being a newscaster made her an "influencer" long before that term entered the vernacular. (That same idea was effectively employed in "The Omega Man" back in '71 with a former newscaster elevated to leadership of the mutants).

Breaking news from WNN: Parker Lewis can't lose, but Len Parker sure can. Talk about not learning from history, right? His replay of the incendiary events of Daniel 3 made for a fantastic scene and a fitting end, though I admit I will miss his distinct brand of deviltry. Yeah, he was a little over the top, but he effectively ensured nobody would mistake him for a good guy. "Evil incarnate" is an overused term but an apt one here. Shooting down a dad in front of his wife and child? Slapping senseless the grieving widow while threatening her young child? That puts the evil in devil.

Evil of a more subtle and persuasive kind was employed by Nick Mancuso as Antichrist Franco Macalousso. A different actor than the one who played the role in the first picture, but a stronger and more convincing one. He reminded me of Sebastian Cabot's character in the "Twilight Zone" episode "A Nice Place to Visit." So charming a fellow, "a man of wealth and taste," as the Rolling Stones phrased it. Satan will deceive many with his smooth words and empty promises, and I admit I choked up when witnessing whom he deceived and at what horrors a person can inflict upon the innocent when his capacity to love is stripped away.

"Revelation" proved to be a taut and intense thriller, especially in its closing quarter, though there really wasn't a dull moment after the opening home movies end. I thoroughly enjoyed it and can't wait to slide the third film "Tribulation" into the DVD player tomorrow. The caveat is that "Revelation" is NOT an evangelistic film and is regretfully soft n' squishy on the necessity of Christ in salvation. But taken for what it is, it shines as a professionally polished action flick free from the profanity, nudity, and gore plaguing most modern films of that genre. Enjoy, but do keep an eye out for O. N. E. Agents crawling through windows and for those pesky providentially toppled blue plastic cups!

Revelation is a movie that all Christians should see. It is set in modern times, with computer technology as a major part of the story line. Jeff Fahey is one of the non-believers left behind after the Rapture...his wife and child are gone, and he is unable to comprehend what has really happened.

Nick Mancuso gives a gripping portrayal as the Anti-Christ.

From the combined ministries of Jack and Rexella Van Impe and John Hagee comes Revelation, the second in a trilogy of films about somebody's conception of the end times. I say somebody's because even fundamentalist Christians are by no means united about prophesying things to come.

I've not seen the first of these films Apocalypse in which a united world government is established and the rapture has taken place. A guy who even calls himself the Messiah named Macaluso played by Nick Mancuso has taken over the world and it's either his way or the highway.

Christians are not even united on whether there will even be a rapture, but I'm of the opinion that if the fundamentalists are right and whole lots of people that you know feel that way suddenly vanish it might give some tangible proof about the Bible being real.

But it has happened and it's happened to Jeff Fahey's family, wife and daughter, who just vanished without a trace. She could never quite get him to church and he's been left behind as a result. Anyway under the regime of Messiah Macaluso those who are not followers of his are deemed 'haters' and are rounded up and also disappear in more conventional ways.

Fahey finds himself questioning what's going on and when he does he's framed for his partner's murder and forced to flee among the haters. Who in his city include former news anchor Leigh Lewis who in the first film had been the first to denounce Macaluso for being Satan.

Mancuso's got something called a Day of Wonders where folks will be asked to participate in a virtual reality game en masse. Since we know who Mancuso is, it's something not good and its up to the believer types to throw a monkey wrench into the works.

Carol Alt and Tony Nappo play a blind and a paraplegic people respectively and when they play the game they are healed and become Mancuso's disciples. That's a mighty hard thing to give up, healing from some affliction to reject Mancuso.

David Roddis has an over the top performance as one of Mancuso's acolytes who's playing his villain in the best Snidely Whiplash tradition. All he needed was a handlebar mustache to twirl at both ends.

It's impossible to evaluate these films because believer folk will hang on every word and nonbelievers will inevitably scoff. Then it degenerates into a theological not a cinema discussion. The cast give it their best to inject reality in some far fetched notions.

There was a scene that really wasn't terribly germane to the plot where a father turns in his son for 're-education' because he caught him with a Bible. I took a look on the actor, Darrel Hicks, who played the son and found he'd also later done work on Queer As Folks. Talk about an eclectic resume.

The ending is positively biblical itself. Just think of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego.

...this one will petrify you. When you watch films such as The Shining... Scream... all volumes of Freddy Kruger, etc., etc., you are scared, obviously, but it really doesn't affect your inner soul. You have sort of a security blanket in your mind, because you know this is not true; it never happened.

Revelation, although, literally makes you tremble because of its sheer, true-to-life impact. It WILL happen; it's not a matter of 'if'...but 'when.' It's not a wholly bad thing, either, it forces you to look over your spiritual life and ask yourself if you're really putting what is necessary into your faith life; your relationship with God. Go rent it, feel yourself quiver.

To paraphrase Comic book Guy from the Simpsons "Worst Film Ever!!!" And this does not even begin to tell you what you have let yourself in for by watching this film. Timed at 551/2 mins before the incredulity of the wooden acting wore off! The only saving grace was a quite unique, and I suppose vaugely interesting storyline, which somehow managed to distract from the acting - just long enough for you to last till the dissapointing 'climax'.