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June 11, 2008

One Night with the King (2006)

Should I see it?
No.

Short Review: Check this guy out, perhaps it should have been called One Night with the Queen.

Christian film has many issues for critics. First among these issues is that critics tend to like well made films; they’re silly that way. There have been some great advances in the last few years, but major problems with the Christian film industry remain. The products tend to be Pollyannaish in their presentation of real life, low in their budgets (or at least they don’t get much for their money) and dreadfully acted. Christian films are usually seen as childlike efforts made by people who should simply leave film making up to actual filmmakers. This production doesn’t do much to change this template.

This is a big film with lavish scenery and some very effective cinematography. The cast is impressive with veteran actors such as John Rhys-Davies, Peter O'Toole, Omar Sharif and Tommy "Tiny" Lister (you’ll know when you see him). To be fair O’Toole and Sharif are provide cameos but they’re on the payroll just the same. It is clear that producer Matthew Crouch (among others) spent their money wisely and got a lot of bang for their buck. There is one deeply rooted problem with the whole production.

The script stinks.

It more than stinks, it is a stewing, reeking, stagnant pond of bad narration. The characters are little more than pawns that screenwriter Stephan Blinn moves around to try to cover the holes in his script. The story line is a coherent as talking with Keith Richards while he’s eating peanut butter straight from the jar. The dialog is stiff and the character arcs are so flat you can use them as levels.

This isn’t Blinn’s first excursion into mediocrity, he’s responsible for such gems as The Omega Code, Carman: The Champion and Megiddo: The Omega Code 2 (apparently, there were so many unanswered questions from the first Omega Code). Blinn is also an editor and producer on this film. It is clear, given his body of work, he shouldn’t be writing screenplays. He is not a screenwriter. He hasn’t made anything outside of the comfortable embrace of Crouch’s productions which hints that Blinn gets his writing gigs because of some “Old Christian Boy’s Club” mentality. This whole production could have been successful. It could have been quite good - but it is The fault lies in the script, no where else.

Am I being a little harsh on Blinn? No - because, not just one person, but a massive group, makes a film. Everyone involved puts their lives on hold and puts their best work forth (at least that’s the idea.) People sacrifice portions of their lives and their dreams to make movies. To have something as critical as the script to be handed over to someone who clearly is lacking professional grade talent angers me. It is no different than a producer forcing his “girlfriend” or kid to be installed in a lead role even though they can’t act (watch Sophia Coppola in The Godfather III to see a brilliant case of this nepotism). It is unfair to those professionals putting in the work, and it is unfair to the audience because the end results are awful. This kind of thing happens in secular films as well. This is certainly not a unique example. This happens all the time. It is rare, however, to see the negative results so clearly.

The film as a whole is hard to sit through because of the persistent story issues. The acting is passable in most regards and the direction overall is good. Again, this is a good movie weighed down. Nothing is developed and the tone of the piece gets confused and off rhythm. It is clear a great deal of effort went into the production, but the piece remains unsuccessful.

Like many Christian films the results don’t match the intentions. The road to hell is paved with movies such as this one.

Related Reviews:
Christian films
The Omega Code (1999)
The Visitation (2006)

Other Critic's Reviews:
Michael Medved
Cinema Blend

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Labels: Christian film, film, John Rhys-Davies, Luke Goss, Matthew Crouch, movie review

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