Review of God's Not Dead 2 (2016) by Colton A — 19 May 2016

(Craccum Issue #9) God's Not Dead 2 is a faith-based drama and sequel to the successful Pure Flix film God's Not Dead. It follows Melissa Joan Hart as Grace Wesley, a teacher who answers a student's question comparing Martin Luther King Jr. to Jesus, and due to a mention of the latter in a secular environment, ends up in court. The rest of the film plays out the court case that decides whether Grace can keep her job.

For the purposes of this review, it's worth pointing out that there is nothing fundamentally wrong with believing in any God, or mentioning it briefly in a classroom with no attempt to indoctrinate or convert school children.

The issue with God's Not Dead 2 is that it feels it can't win this court case and sway the audience without completely misrepresenting the motives (not necessarily arguments) of the accusers. In one scene, we hear in private that the plaintiff wants to help the school board and "prove once and for all that God is dead". It's obvious to people of any belief that the motives of any accuser in such a case would simply be to ensure that teaching, not preaching, took place.

God's Not Dead 2 refers to many real-life court cases of a similar nature, which the person of faith typically won and rightfully so. It's almost guaranteed no court case has ever played out like the drama in this film, which would make even the biggest soap opera fans roll their eyes. The film's agenda often extends to politics, as a pointless subplot is told involving the big, evil federal government telling local priests what they can and cannot preach in church.

The takeaway here is that God's Not Dead 2 may be a film about faith, but the blatant infeasibility of the story and characters will only leave you in disbelief.