At first glance, “God’s Not Dead 2,” released on April 1, seems to be an intriguing court case story. But in reality, it’s a dull, two-hour long slog that was barely watchable.
The film followed AP History teacher Grace Wesley (Melissa Joan Hart) as she got put on trial for answering a student’s (Hayley Orrantia) question in class relating to Jesus. However, according to federal laws, teachers weren’t allowed to preach Jesus’ sayings, and she was whisked into a complete mess of a plot that was hard to follow.
This movie failed completely in conveying its messages that God is not dead. It was reminiscent of a feature-length advertisement, but this one was so long that it quickly got very uncomfortable for nonbelievers.
In terms of plot, the storytelling of the this movie was clunky. As the story progressed, the court case started to feel like a tedious one with all of its speeches. While the actors were very convincing, there were moments when I felt that this movie should just end right there.
The film was also sorely lacking in character development. Sure, there were relatable protagonists and other characters, but the main problem was that most of them proved to be flat as the flick progressed. Grace remained ever-faithful to her beliefs, the students remained emotional and supportive to Grace, and Grace’s lawyer remained neutral on the case. Movies about court cases should have relatable characters and graying morality, something this movie lacked.
Of course, this movie did have some heartwarming and strong elements. The court case, as shown throughout, had some strong points as it went on. A couple minor plot points were truly convincing, for all they were worth in quality.
Overall, the film was a decent flick that Christians may want to watch, but for others, it was horrible in story and presentation.
The film is rated PG for some thematic elements.
[star rating=”1″]
