The ironic part of evangelical filmmaking is they promote far less discussion about religion than regular movies with religious themes, of which there have been a bevy this year. Hail, Caesar!, The Witch, 10 Cloverfield Lane and Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice are all mainstream movies that require intense religious introspection, and that trend looks to continue with X-Men: Apocalypse in late May. Photos courtesy Pure Flix Entertainment.
One of the primary functions of movies, and art in general, is to preserve the culture from which they developed. Human philosophy has evolved rapidly over the years, and movies provide a clear record of ideologies that have fallen out of viability with seminal films like Birth of a Nation, Terminator 2 and The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn Part 1. Following this great tradition of reflection on broken ideals is Pure Flix Entertainment’s biting satire God’s Not Dead 2: Electric Boogaloo.
In the movie, persecution becomes prosecution when high school history teacher Grace Wesley (Melissa Joan Hart), who’s name was picked at random out of a hat, is sued by the aetheist parents of Brooke Thawley (Hayley Orrantia) for quoting scripture in class in answer to Thawley’s question. Thawley’s parents are being used by aetheist lawyer Pete Kane (Ray Wise) and his hair-based satanic powers. Wesley is represented by ACLU appointed lawyer Tom Endler (Jesse Metcalfe), even though he isn’t Christian. Inept heathen that he is, Kane makes a mistake in the jury-selection process, allowing a man of God, Reverend Dave (Pure Flix co-founder David A.R. White) onto the jury.
Despite clearly having the case in hand because of this, Endler and Wesley are ravaged by Kane’s suave character assassination, and are forced to shift tactics mid-trial and call several real-world apologists to the stand to forensically prove that Jesus of Nazareth existed, despite repeated arguments that this case is actually about faith.
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Reel Entropy 