Six: The Mark Unleashed

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.

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.

I saw this at the 2004 Greater Orlando Christian Film Festival. Most Christian movies have a well-earned reputation of being terrible on just about every level from acting to directing to writing to production. They look like your average church youth group with a dv camera ran out and shot a movie. As such I was braced for more of the same but Six (not sure why it is named that) actually is a cut above normal Christian films. The writing, while not always the smartest, definitely keeps you guessing what will happen next. I had some issues with things that didn't make a lot of sense, such as why in a prison where they are executing prisoners if they don't convert to the antichrist, they are allowing the inmates to have Bible studies and write Bible verses all over the walls. It seems contradictory at best. Also the backstory is given short shrift as to how or why the Leader came to power. There is some mentioning of purges and that's about it. Other issues have to do with things that happen for no apparent reason. Like there is a character that recalls how he got saved. So we see him driving his car along a road mocking a large group of people that are walking for some inexplicable reason to some unexplained or unrevealed destination, and then he gets yanked out of the car and beat up. This scene has no context. Just because it is a flashback does not mean that within the flashback, context is optional. So that's the bad, or what I can remember of it. Now for the good. Six has some of the best acting that I have seen in a Christian film, notably on the part of Jeffrey Dean Morgan as Tom Newman. He delivers his lines in a nice deadpan way and never goes over the top. Stephen Baldwin(!) has a great turn as the prophetic Luke. Baldwin puts that menacingly creepy little whisper delivery that he used in The Usual Suspects to great effect here with his moments opposite Morgan. Writing, directing, and starring is Kevin Downes as Jerry the hacker. Downes does an admirable job and in all of these roles but is best at his ability to hold back the film from spiraling out of control into the realms of the ludicrous with his even direction. While it has a solid Christian thriller vibe, it doesn't ram the "you're going to hell" message down your throat. It's more complex than that and expects its audience to think critically. While not a big screen level of quality (this is to be excused because it isn't being made with a massive budget), the movie is definitely the equal of your normal made-for-tv fare. Firmly anchored if not always rock steady, Six is a film that you can watch and not be embarrassed with if you are a Christian. 3.5 stars of 5.

Of course some people think this movie was stupid...to me..I loved it.

"The man without the Spirit does not accept the things that come from the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him, and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually discerned." - 1 Corinthians 2:14

The movie had much more to offer than most of the other movies out there. This had content that spoke to my soul as truth. There was some real truth about redemption and forgiveness.

I'm curious to know how many of the actors were Christian? I also think that Stephen Baldwin has improved on his acting skills. I've also seen Eric Roberts in other movies with Christian content.

Can't believe there's people who gives a 10 to this movie. The USA are starting to scare me really, people like this, who claim to love this stupid, stereotypical pamphlet are the ones mass voting G.Bush and his preventive wars against the infidels, the axis of evil and those other fairy tales. So so sad.Talking about the artistic part this is probably the worst film ever made.

We find very bad acting, a car who seems to appear through the entire movie (with different owners). Enough plot holes to swallow the whole galaxy and crappy ideas who could fit the worst sects out there. I almost identified myself with the bad guys that being pure crap aren't swimming in the wide sea of idiocy at least.

And yes, i'm Christian, but this is not what i was taught since i was a child. Neither Christians are theatrical lunatics nor illuminated people disconnected from reality.

Sorry for my English