Movie Review: "Taken By Grace"

Synopsis: Christian couple Shawn (Bradley Dorsey) and Carrie Everett (Haylie Duff, Napoleon Dynamite) are on a camping trip when things suddenly go awry; a recently released criminal (Angus McFayden) holds them at gunpoint and instructs them to drive him to another town...where he plans to kill someone.  He doesn't know that the police are on his trail...but, will they be able to catch him? Fearing for their lives, Shawn and Carrie are put to the ultimate test; will they make it out alive?

The Good: I have to hand it to Haylie Duff; she did well in this, despite it being a shoddy film.  There were some surprising plot twists towards the end that I won't reveal, just in case you decide to see this after all.

The Bad: This did not feel like a Christian movie.  For one, the female lead wears a low-cut outfit throughout...and she is supposed to be of the faith! With the scary criminal holding the lives of an innocent married in his hands, it feels more like a horror movie...which is not my bag.  Plus, the makers play tricks on the audience; they tell the later actions of the characters via on-screen text, as if it were a true story...only to say at the end of the credits that it's all fictional! Does that not smack of lying?

Conclusion: I'm a fan of Christian cinema.  Sure, filmmakers of the faith don't always get it right, but, then again, neither do mainstream ones.  When done correctly, celluloid can be an amazing teaching tool...but, when we get dreck like this, it's embarrassing for people of the Way.  I plan on watching more Christian movies later this month; I hope they're better than this mess.  It's a shame; with a mainstream actress like Haylie Duff, who has appeared in successful projects such as Napoleon Dynamite and That's So Raven, they could have done something much better.

Score: 2/5