Quickie Movie Review: "Judgment"

Rated: PG-13 for violence
Starring: Leigh Lewis, Corbin Bernsen, and Jessica Steen
Released: March 6, 2001 (DVD)

Synopsis: Ever since the mass disappearances and the takeover by Franco Macalousso (Nick Mancuso), Helen Hannah (Leigh Lewis) and her fellow Christians have been regarded as "haters".  Helen herself was thought to be dead, but Macalousso actually kept her alive, and is putting her on trial.  When Mitch (Corbin Bernsen, Rust) is hired to be her lawyer, he is just as convinced that she is a hater as much as everyone else.  Will Hannah be able to prove to him--or anyone else--that the God she believes in is real and true?
The final film in Cloud Ten's Apocalypse series.

My Review: This is one of those movies that's best left to interpretation.  On the one hand, having a trial that is supposed to be entirely staged disturbingly smacks of today's "reality" television.  On the other hand, the entire movie is bleak, but…maybe that's the point.  Usually, "end times" fiction--including Left Behind--is so strange that it feels more like an odd fantasy movie than anything that could ever happen.  There's a touch of that in this, but, really, the way society is portrayed in this film is quite close to the way it currently is now, which makes it all the more unsettling.  It's not a wonderful film, by any means, but its message is clear.

Content Concerns:

• Sex: None. 5/5
• Nudity: A man's midriff is seen. 4.5/5
• Language: Name-calling includes "idiots." 4.5/5
• Violence: More than one person is shot dead.  A man is nearly stabbed, and, though he isn't seriously hurt, he gets some blood on his neck. 3.5/5
• Drugs: A man is seen drinking wine. 4.5/5
• Frightening/Intense Scenes: The entire movie is disturbing and bleak. 1.5/5
• Other: Some people may disagree with this film's interpretations of "end times" theology. 2.5/5

Final Score: 2.75/5