By Geno McGahee
Any time that there is a religious movie released there will be tons of churchgoers that will show up to see it. GOD’S NOT DEAD was a hit because it brought in the masses that wanted to prove to the evil atheists that there is a magical man in the sky and he does love everyone except for those that he sends to burn for eternity, which includes all gays. Surprisingly, gay sex was not touched upon in GOD’S NOT DEAD. Maybe we’ll have it covered in the sequel.
Josh Wheaton (Shane Harper) is a college freshman and he is ready for his philosophy class but is immediately warned when his crucifix it noticed. Professor Radisson (Kevin Sorbo) is an atheist and that is not enough for him. On the first day of class, he insists that every student writes “God is Dead” and signs it. Josh, a Christian, refuses. Radisson then offers him the floor to debate the topic over the course of three classes. Apparently the other students’ needs don’t matter.
Wheaton’s girlfriend, Kara (Cassidy Gifford), insists that Josh give up this debate idea and just bend over for the professor. Do what he says and shut up about it. When Josh refuses, Kara dumps him on the spot. They were together for six years and it was all gone over this one debate. Josh shouldn’t worry though because he is inspiring a young Muslim chick that has secretly turned Christian. That enrages her father and he kicks her out of the house, after slapping her a few times. It’s amazing how angry and aggressive non-Christians are…and that is touched upon in the debates too. If you don’t have God over your shoulder, you will do all sorts of criminal activities because there is no boogie man to tell you not to and to damn you if you do.
When Josh gets traction with the class, primarily Martin (Paul Kwo), who seems to have a man crush on him, it enrages the professor. Sorbo is great in this role. He wanted to destroy this kid that dared to challenge him and even told him that “you’re not going to make a fool out of me.” Sorbo is a great actor and you can tell that he had a great time in this role.
We have DUCK DYNASTY people in this movie too. I know a lot of rednecks love churchy garbage and the appearance of these two were enough to fill some more seats. Amy (Trisha LaFache) is an aggressive atheist reporter that feels the need to insults the beliefs of whomever she interviews and also pushes her PETA support. Don’t worry. God gets her and gives her cancer. That opens her eyes that god exists and she should worship him.
Her boyfriend, Marc (Dean Cain), is a business man and he has found great success, but he is not the warmest guy in the world. When his sister, Mina (Cory Oliver), asks him to see their sickly mother, he refuses. He then says, ask her “what three plus three is and if she answers correctly, I’ll go see her.” When Marc is informed that Amy is dying of cancer, he dumps her. When he does eventually go to see his mother, he refers to her as the “nicest person” he’s ever known and he’s the “meanest.” OK…it was pretty amusing and Dean Cain was a great addition to this film.
Remarkably, Mina, is not only the sister of the atheist jerk, Marc, but she is also dating the atheist jerk, Professor Radisson. When she speaks to Reverend Dave (David A. R. White), she soon dumps her man and becomes religious 1000% again.
A Christian rock concert is the setting for all of these characters and storylines to collide and it ends as it began…ridiculously. (Spoiler) The atheist professor turns to the lord right before he dies, admitting that he was really mad at God. He didn’t not believe…he was just mad at him for taking his mother when he was 12. Poor Radisson was struck by a car and was out on the pavement when it’s determined that he’s a dead man. There was no urgency to call an ambulance. It was more important to convert him to Christianity.
GOD’S NOT DEAD is surprisingly entertaining. It is so bad it’s good. I have to give credit to both Kevin Sorbo and Dean Cain for their work in this. They were both hilarious in the roles of evil atheists. Sorbo really sold this movie and the film is worth a watch. There is no deep meaning. The arguments are old and the story is rather basic, but the cartoonish characters that Sorbo and Cain played was so amusing that I’m forced to recommend it. It’s good fun.
Rating: 7/10
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