Judgment (2001)

It seems Macaluso the anti-Christ is putting in a lot of time in dealing with this one newscaster who has denounced him for who and what he is. It's been three films now and there might yet be more in the offing.Leigh Lewis has returned as Hannah Hunter, a Katie Couric like news anchor, who denounced Macaluso on network television and is now a fugitive in the one world government that Macaluso has made for himself as dictator of the world. She was caught in the last film, but he spared her for this film Judgment where she is now to be tried for her crimes.In Judgment the Christians are now called Haters and it's big time illegal to be one. What Nick Mancuso as Macaluso wants is a Stalinist like show trial and you need the cooperation of all the parties for that one. That would include the defense attorney, but prosecutor Jessica Steen assures everyone that her old boyfriend Corbin Bernsen is the right attorney for their purposes.In the meantime such zealous Christians as Mr. T and Selma Davis are planning a rescue of Lewis before the trial. And Bernsen is not quite what he seems to Mancuso and company.Call me old fashioned, but what seems to be implicit here is that man is incapable of solving his own problems. And when a guy comes along who does solve our age old disputes and brings world peace, inherently he HAS to be evil. A lot of that attitude is a self fulfilling prophecy, we can't do anything for ourselves, don't try, but trust in some higher power for this world or a good place in the next. And then the problems don't get solved in any event.Judgment is a low budget Christian film on the days after the Rapture and before the Second Coming as some Christians conceive them to be. Remember it's all in the realm of speculation. Take out the religious component and we call it science fiction.We may yet see Hannah Hunter and Nick Macaluso back again for those interested.

I rented this knowing it was going to Christian propaganda, and that it would offer some fun MST3k style. What I didn't know was just how jaw-droppingly crude and inept the writing would be.Corbin Burnsen must have been way behind on house payments to agree to have done this movie. To go from a star of the highest rated show on TV ("L.A. Law") to this drek was a fall indeed. Even Mr. T seems to be slumming. Neither has to stretch, as the characters they have here are almost identical to Arnie Becker and B.A., respectively.The courtroom procedure in this movie is sillier than in "Ally McBeal," and that's saying a lot. What is particularly amusing is the presentation of the One World Ruler. Whether it's books or films in this gender, he's pretty easy to spot - he's the only character whose name has a pronounced vowel at the end. But the people who take the stuff seriously must be slow on the uptake, so the producers also dress him in sinister suits, give him a decadent haircut, and give an office where he keeps a big picture of himself hanging behind the desk. He's really, *really* evil, get it? Ruling the world must leave one with more slack time than say, running your average restaurant, because he's on ready call to be a witness at the trial of the title. Oh, there are prequels and sequels. Probably with other washed up actors, in addition to actors so obscure even they don't know their own names. I think I'll pass.

This movie, as well as the other three in the series{Apocalypse, Revelation and Tribulation) should appeal to christians and non christians alike as it tells a fictional Biblical story without preaching. To those christians who only want factual Biblical stories, this probably won't appeal to you because it is fiction. The movies do not go into what the Bible says about the end times. The movies are well written, and there is a lack of profanity. The special effects are dazzling, but the violence is not suitable for young children. That said, there is very little "hollywood" blood and guts. People get shot and beheaded, but it is not shown in gory detail. The characters are well developed and the acting is superb.

first I'd like to say that I am a firm believer in Christ and his Gospel, and I respect these Christians for TRYING to make a decent film. I also love to laugh at bad movies. With this said, I can honestly say that this movie was HILARIOUSLY AWFUL! Every character with the exception of the lawyer and maybe Hannah or whoever was as flat as if they'd been run over by a steamroller. The arguing about the resurrection part of the courtroom sounded like a plug from a book by Josh McDowell. The Antichrist guy just looked like some frumpy dude with alot of regalia. It was never explained why this was the Greatest Trial In History or whatever - it looked like just another Christian being persecuted. The part about the baby killing could have turned out to be interesting if the lawyer had used the evidence, but that was completely abandoned and left us scratching our heads as to why it was included in the first place. The ending was abrupt and just as unsatisfying as the rest of the movie (do they all die? do they get away? will there be a sequel? who knows???)The best (or worst) thing about this film was the almighty MR T. Everything he said was barked in familiar Mr. T fashion, which increacesed the hilarious rating of this movie to "over the roof." His role as the Christian who wants to act too fast instead of sitting around and "waiting on God" was perfect for him, but like someone else said, he is the exact same person as he is on the A Team.Christian filmmakers, if you're reading this, PLEASE, PLEASE make good movies. The last thing we need is another bad Christian movie. Good movies include original plots, characters with depth, well written scripts, put together in a way that is not formulaic, contrived, or cliched. Characters are not just props to plug your message into. The message needs to come through in the whole story, which is told by the lighting, the soundtrack, the camera, the dialogue, and just about every other aspect. In "Judgement," the message came may have come through, but the story didn't.