RISEN (2016) – Film Review
They could have called it God’s Not Dead . But then it would have been cheesy, corny, and other food-related adjectives. Risen is devoid of most cheese and corn: no caricatures, no wish-fulfillment fantasies, and no deceptive ethos-building. It’s not a perfect film, but it is a welcome addition to the faith-based genre. As a reminder, I rate movies based on three criteria: potentially objectionable content (C), artistry (A), and my personal preference (P). CONTENT (C): 10 out of 10 Believe it or not, faith-based films often have questionable content—not the typical sex, violence, and profanity, but something just as problematic. What they often do is jettison artistic nuance and subtlety and instead beat audiences over the head with a blatant message that, true or not, alienates skeptics and ends up preaching only to the choir. Such tactics are morally and artistically deficient. In the case of Risen , no such overt message exists. The film is obviously sympathetic t...