FILM REVIEW: God's Not Dead: A Light in the Darkness (2018)

Directed by Michael Mason

* * 

God’s Not Dead: A Light in the Darkness follows the same formulas, indulges in the same tropes, and pushes the same ethical/political/ideological agenda as its two predecessors, so much so that I was seriously tempted to completely skip out on a proper review and instead give a one-to-two paragraph explanation regarding the lack of a review. Not out of anger, not out of cynicism, but just because there’s really not much to say that hasn’t already been said – what has been said about the first two God’s Not Dead films is easily applied here. Lucky for you, I’m not the type to cop out like that. In turn, though, that might result in a fairly bare-bones review.

Pastor Dave Hill (David A.R. White) is back once again, a figure of controversy. He has been jailed for contempt of court after legal confrontation of…something involving his Christian faith and his refusal to bow down to secularism. He is released the next morning, greeted by fellow Pastor Jude (Benjamin A. Onyango). Trouble continues for Dave: his church (which has stood for generations) sits on the territory of a state college, and the students want it gone.

What is a God’s Not Dead film without a bunch of other characters? Along with Dave, we also have Keaton (Samantha Boscarino), a student at the college. She is a Christian, but her faith in Christ is at a very uncertain point. She has a boyfriend; Adam (Mike C. Manning), who teases her once in a while about her faith. After an argument, Adam accidentally blows up Dave’s church, and Pastor Jude is killed in the explosion. With the church in charred ruins, it is on the brink of being torn down, but Dave has teamed with his agnostic brother Pearce (John Corbett), a social justice lawyer, to ensure that church stands no matter what.

Oh, and Josh Wheaton (Shane Harper) is back, who has given up law school to become a minister. There’s really nothing much more to say beyond that. He’s just there for the audience to light up in recognition.

I didn’t bother with God’s Not Dead 2, but I did with the first film, and I can assure you that God’s Not Dead: A Light in the Darkness does absolutely nothing to garner any fans from anybody outside the target demographic, let alone convert anybody. Christians are the good guys, atheists and secularists (well, pretty much anybody who isn’t a Christian) are the bad guys, but in the usual attempt to round things out, there are a few non-Christians thrown into the mix, we know exactly what side they’ll be on by the film’s end. Sound familiar?

That doesn’t mean there’s nothing to talk about, though. To my pleasant surprise, God’s Not Dead: A Light in the Darkness attempts at some complexity in its subject matter, instead of the same old us-versus-them mentality that is otherwise so prevalent. Dave is the primary example: at one point, he has a violent encounter with a character, and the movie doesn’t apologize for or justify his actions. He is even confronted when he’s bluntly told that it’s behavior like that that has bred such a backlash against Christianity. It’s refreshing to see that somebody at Pure Flix is at least aware.

There’s also something to be said about the character of Keaton and her struggle of faith (crisis of faith is one of the most striking subjects in all of cinema), but I cannot give any praises beyond “it at least has these themes and elements”, because this complex subject matter is never really explored beyond what we’re given. The movie just presses on from plot point to plot point, and not particularly engagingly. Every single exchange of dialogue feels like an exchange between a pastor and an inquisitive member of their congregation. Dear movie: plot and sermon are not the same thing. At least try to be subtle and subversive, which it tries to be, as there is the occasional quasi-profound statement.

The lack of subtlety perpetuates, sometimes to insulting degrees. Take, for instance, one of the progressive secular students. At one point, he is seen recording a video on his phone. There is an American flag on his phone, and as he records, it is inverted. How tasteful.

As far as how the film is made; it’s at least watchable in that regard. Yeah, the set designs are a bit sterile from time to time, but the production is about what you’d expect from a film in the God’s Not Dead series. While there is a “plastic” factor to everything, at least it’s not distracting. That said, will somebody please tell the DP to turn down the ISO? So many shots….so unbearably bright. I suppose it’s trying to be inspirational, but it’s a bit overbearing. At least in the theater; I can see this being less excruciating at home. Also, it’s decently paced. It started, said what it had to say, and was done. No dragging from the film, no restlessness and watch-checks from me, so at least sitting through this wasn’t a task.

The track record for Christian cinema is truly a shame. Faith and theology can make for extraordinarily poignant and touching cinematic experiences. Take The Tree of Life for instance: it is one of the most unbelievably moving films I’ve ever seen, and when broken down and analyzed, one will discover it is a deep testament of Christian faith. Unfortunately, films like The Tree of Life don’t pull the numbers quite like the God’s Not Dead series has. This third installment; while not quite as unbearable as its predecessors, it’s otherwise still same old, same old. For the target audience, you’ll be told exactly what you heard the last couple of times. For those opposed, save your breath and energy: nothing new to get huffy over. So, before any ideological debates start, let’s move on, shall we? There's better movies to be concerned about.