Movie Review: "Caught"

Rated: PG-13 for mature subject matter and drug use
Starring: John Shepherd, Amerjit Deu, and Jill Ireland
Released: 1987

Synopsis
Tim's mother just dropped a bombshell on him; he just found out that his biological father is not who Tim thought he was.  To find him, Tim jets off to Amsterdam with little information to go on.  Unbeknownst to Tim, Billy Graham is also holding a crusade in the same city, which has attracted Christians from all over the planet.  One of them is Raj, a New Delhi native, who finds Tim in a sad state of affairs, and decides to help him out in his search for his father.  What Raj doesn't know is that there are guys hot on Tim's trail, just waiting to bring him down.  Will Raj be able to help Tim find his father?
From World Wide Pictures, the movie production company of evangelist Billy Graham.

The Good
Since this movie was released just before I was born, it serves as a good portrait of what life was like back in those times.  It also has a good overall story, one that kept me interested until the end, even if it was slightly slow.  The two main characters are likable, and Raj proves to be quite the Good Samaritan.

The Bad
With a "PG-13" rating, you'd probably expect this to be harder-edged than usual for a Christian film, and, in a way, it is.  Not only is there the "mature subject matter" and "drug use" the MPAA warned about, but a bit of violence which leaves one character with a nasty gash on his face as well as two profanities and occasional usage of crude terms such as "crap" and "shove it" are all present here.  Guys are seen shirtless and/or in underwear numerous times, and a scene at the end has a guy in tribal gear that shows almost his whole rear end.  Also, the music--especially during the ending credits--is a bit cheesy.

Conclusion
This old-school Christian movie takes a different tack than many of the ones before and after it.  It isn't a retelling of a Bible story, nor is it an interpretation of end times prophecy.  The film itself isn't anything special, but fans of recent Christian movies such as God's Not Dead might be interested in watching this to see how the genre has evolved since then.  I'm glad I found this on the five-dollar rack at LifeWay; unless you can find it really cheap, I'd only suggest renting or borrowing it.  It's good for what it is, but, I doubt I'll ever watch it again.

Score: 3/5