Aside from being such a booknerd, I'm also a self-confessed movie junkie so I thought, I'll finally make my movie reviews a blog feature. Well, I've posted movie reviews here already before but this time, I solemnly swear I'll never go hiatus again... To formally launch my Movie Monday, my review today is (drum roll please)... God's Not Dead.
PLOT:
Josh Wheaton (
Shane Harper), a
Christian college student, enrolls in a
philosophy class taught by Professor Jeffrey Radisson (
Kevin Sorbo), an
atheist,
who demands that his students sign a declaration that "God is dead" to
get a passing grade. Josh is the only student in the class who refuses
to sign and is then required by Radisson to debate the topic with him,
with the class members deciding who wins.
Radisson gives Josh 20 minutes at the end of the first three lecture
sessions to argue that God exists. In the first two debates, Radisson
has counter arguments for all of Josh's points. Josh's girlfriend Kara
(Cassidy Gifford) breaks up with him, fearing that standing up to
Radisson will jeopardize their academic future. Ultimately, it comes
down to the third and final debate between Radisson and Josh, who again
both make compelling points. Josh then halts his line of debate to pose a
question to Radisson: "Why do you hate God?" After Josh repeats the
question twice more, Radisson explodes in rage, confirming he hates God
for his mother's death that left him alone despite his prayers. Josh
then casually asks
Radisson how he can hate someone that doesn't exist.
In the end, Martin (Paul Kwo), a foreign exchange student whose father
had encouraged him not to convert to Christianity, stands up and says
"God's not dead." Almost the entire class follows Martin's lead, causing
Radisson to leave the room in defeat.
Against the backdrop of the debates, a series of peripherally related
subplots develop. Radisson dates Mina (Cory Oliver), a Christian whom
he often belittles in front of his fellow atheist colleagues. Her
brother Mark (
Dean Cain),
a successful businessman and atheist, refuses to visit their mother,
who suffers from dementia. Mark's girlfriend, Amy (Trisha LaFache), is a
left-wing blogger who writes articles critical of
Duck Dynasty. When she is diagnosed with cancer, Mark dumps her. A
Muslim student named Ayisha (Hadeel Sittu) secretly converts to Christianity and is disowned by her family when they find out.
After the final debate, Josh invites Martin to attend the
Newsboys
concert that is in town. Radisson reads a letter from his late mother,
and is moved to reconcile with Mina. Amy confronts the Newsboys in their
dressing room, only to admit that she wants to get to know God. While
on his way to find Mina, Radisson is struck by a car and fatally
injured. Reverend Dave (
David A. R. White)
finds him and guides him in becoming a Christian as he dies. Mark at
last visits his mother, only to taunt her; she responds that all of his
financial success was given to him by
Satan.
As the film ends, the Newsboys play a video clip of Willie Robertson congratulating Josh. The Newsboys then play their song "God's Not Dead", dedicating it to Josh.
~~~Plot from Wikipedia~~~
Stardust by Neil Gaiman
