Quickie Movie Review: "The Encounter: Paradise Lost"

Rated: Not Rated (Dove approved for ages twelve and up)
Starring: Bruce Marchiano, David A. R. White, and Robert Miano
Released: September 18, 2012 (DVD)

Synopsis: A mother and father who lost their only son in the 2004 Asian tsunami.  A drug lord and his heroin-addicted wife.  A cop with a wanton desire to stop any and all drug lords at all costs.  When a massive storm threatens their area, they find themselves in a room with a mysterious stranger (Bruce Marchiano, The Visual Bible: Matthew), who claims to be Jesus Christ.  Is this guy who he says he is? If not, how does he know all this information about everyone in the room? Before the night is over, everyone is going to be in for some big surprises...
The sequel to The Encounter.

My Review: What was the whole point of this movie? That's the question I had when the credits rolled.  It's sort of a morality play, but the movie itself takes too long to get anywhere, and the sequence at the end seemed pointless.  The original Encounter movie was great; this follow-up is poor.  Stick with the original.

Content Concerns:

• Sex: It is mentioned that a woman was sold into and later rescued from a brothel. Kissing is seen. 4/5
• Nudity: A female character's outfit shows cleavage. 4/5
• Language: A bit of name-calling. 4.5/5
• Violence: People are shot at quite often; one person is shot dead.  A guy points a gun to his own head, but doesn't pull the trigger.  Another guy is seen with a gash on his face.  Two guys get into a brawl. 2.5/5
• Drugs: One of the main characters is a drug lord, which leads to many discussions about how addicting drugs are.  It is also mentioned that one character got his wife addicted to heroin, and that another character's sister died of a drug overdose. Smoking is also seen; drinking alcohol is mentioned.  The drug content alone could easily earn a "PG-13" from the MPAA. 2/5
• Frightening/Intense Scenes: See "Violence". 2.5/5
• Other: Some people may not like the fact that this movie makes light of the 2004 Asian tsunami. 4/5

Score: 1.5/5