Review of God's Not Dead 2 (2016) by Jeff B — 06 Apr 2016

At times so on the nose that it becomes a wart on your sensibilities, God's Not Dead 2 vehemently preaches to the choir but actually shows some potential when it preaches to the jury. Mostly an excuse to sermonize to its target audience loudly and proudly, this sequel to God's Not Dead sadly misses an opportunity to course-correct faith-based movies from being heavy-handed schlock to becoming thought-provoking stock. Sure, a large portion of the flick wallops moviegoers over the head with Christian morals, but the story gets quite interesting when it enters the courtroom. Having an agnostic public defender put religious freedom on the stand presents some dynamic courtroom drama. Of course, the movie never strays too far from the pulpit (sample dialogue from the villainous opposing attorney: "I hate what people like your client stands for and what it's doing to this country"), but it makes you wonder what would happen if flicks of this ilk stopped pandering to its captive audience, used some intelligent design, and employed subtlety. We might actually have a Disinherit the Wind on our hands.

In this PG-rated faith-based drama, a high school teacher (Hart) gives a reasoned response when asked a question in class about Jesus, landing her in deep trouble and in danger of expelling God from the public square once and for all.

Channeling Clarissa Preaches It All, Melissa Joan Hart does a fine job as the woman at the center of this courtroom drama. A budding romance with her counsel (played by Jesse Metcalfe) shreds credibility, but so do all of the loose plotline strands that don't involve putting religion on trial. Meanwhile, Ray Wise makes for a great heavy, while Fred Thompson - in one of his last roles before succumbing to cancer - spends an all-too-brief amount of time on-screen. This re-tread of God's Not Dead won't make or break any of their careers, but - like the audience - they should all want for more when it comes to story.

Bottom line: Deuce Ex Machina.