Let There Be Light (2017)

The Kevin Sorbo family is handsome enough and the acting is workmanlike; but the screenplay, the story, by Sorbo's wife Sam, is lame, stupid really. Dr. Sol Harkens is an author who is celebrated as the World's Greatest Atheist. He is funny and entertaining and aggressive, and he sells a lot of books. He is also a womanizer and an alcoholic, looking for trouble. And he finds it, in a predictable automobile crash and a predictable coma. He has a vision, a near death experience, wherein he talks to his son David, a beautiful boy who was taken to God before his ninth birthday, and due to which Sol has reacted by hating God. So, for starters, Harkens is not an atheist at all, he is a believer who is very angry at God for taking his son from him. But atheists do NOT hate God, atheists do not believe that God exists. No atheist whom I know became one because of an awful experience, they just finally - mostly in their late teens - reacted to the utter lack of evidence for God. Second, the atheists that Sol Harkens is caricaturing -- the New Atheists - are none of them womanizers or alcoholics (well, Hitchens liked to drink as I recall). And finally, the story seems to suggest that: if only atheists had near death experiences they would see God, see the error of their ways, and convert.It was entertaining enough, but lame, really lame. They should hire a few atheist consultants to see what they really think and believe.But honestly, the audience of this film is not atheists who need to convert, the audience is Christians who need to feel better about their spiritual beliefs. Faith is tricky, and it needs all the support that it can get.

It's a movie, people! It's not your everyday shoot 'em up action movie, or super hero movie, or "coming of age" movie, or sex movie, or war movie or movie about global warming or any of the movies that check the Acceptable box. It's a lovely story about an atheist who has made a living mocking Christianity (folks, I have seen many interviews with atheists - as for Mr. Sorbo's character being the stereo typical atheist making fun of Christians that so many other reviewers reviled here, too bad. I have watched it happen. Over and over again. I have never lived in a more hypocritical time in this country and it makes me sad that so many cannot see that their words of inclusiveness do not match their actions). As for the merits of this small but sweet film, it is what it is. A story of one man's conversion from atheism to Christianity which to many today, is the greatest sin that can be committed. As a Bible believing Christian, I loved the beauty of my faith being played out with such authenticity. As one who has had an NDE, the authenticity of what happened in this atheist's NDE almost exactly matched mine except it was my father I saw. As a Christian, I wanted to give this "feel good" movie a 10/10. But in reality, I am also an avid movie watcher and tried to be fair in my review. I DO think it wasn't a great movie. Atheists won't be converted by it, but offended because it challenges their own beliefs. Also, I watched carefully for Biblical errors, and there were none. But I especially loved it because despite what some other reviewers of other faiths claimed, this movie was NOT ABOUT religion. It was about redemption and salvation, pure and simple. So please do not be offended if you think this movie is meant to mock your religion. It didn't! And because it didn't bring any one religion's different ways of celebration into it, the story was much more broad - it SHOULD have touched people from ANY Christian religion as it merely highlighted what any Christian religion should have at its core: Jesus Christ as God's son, who was sacrificed on the cross for our sins so our names can be written back into the book of life and we will go to paradise (heaven) upon our own deaths. There is only one place we can find absolute truth about the God Christian religions claim to worship: the Bible. I saw no mocking or reviling of any Christian religion in this movie. And if your religion IS Christ centered, you should not feel threatened by this movie! I found those reviews oddly and unnecessarily defensive. So, a 10/10 because the information was 100% correct. And it was nice to see a movie reflect my beliefs for a change as I certainly have watched many, many movies which not only were offensive toward Christianity but critics, both professional and nonprofessional, were far more tolerant and supportive toward that story's interpretation of whatever cause was being highlighted. In the end, speaking about this movie as a production, it wasn't perfect. I deducted two stars for a certain amount of forced understatement of the message being put forward. It tried TOO hard to be all things to all Christians. I love you both Kevin Sorbo and Sean Hannity. Kevin, you are a fine actor, but I don't know what your relationship is to the woman who played your wife (your real life wife maybe?), but I would have loved to have seen more passion between the two of you. You honestly looked like two people who had been comfortably married for 50 years instead of a couple finding renewed love again. Also, I raised two Christian children and those kids? Were WAY too perfect. I would have enjoyed this movie far more if you had let go and portrayed these kids more accurately as most kids! Sean and Kevin - you are on the right track with this movie. You said everything correctly. And that earned you an 8/10 for me. Next time? Let your hair down a bit, come talk to me, an average Christian mother of the middle class who raised two children in the faith. Make the NEXT movie more real, please! And it would have been OK to show more passion between Keven and his wife - that would have reflected reality much better instead of appearing to be two soul mates who have been together for many years. I guess to sum it up, the message was exactly correct. But the delivery was too stilted and underplayed. Still, I AM biased, mostly because I have been a Kevin Sorbo fan since Hercules (great moment showing that poster in the background, by the way - I considered adding a star for that!). In the end, I am just thrilled to watch a movie that reflects MY beliefs for a change. And it's OK that others didn't agree with it. This is still America. It's just too bad that most of the reviews here weren't real reviews, but a statement on the content from both sides!

After going through a child that had stage four cancer and was giving less than a 5% change to live. Just seeing this movie brought about some emotional feeling that I had to go through myself. It was amazing how much it related to our lives. I absolutely loved the movie. I have since added it to my video library.

Great family story! There is so much evil in this world..it's refreshing to watch a wholesome movie. We need more of these!!