In a review that surprised the hell out of me (no pun intended), evangelical Christian magazine Relevant has given the new Keanu Reeves flick Constantine a big thumbs-up. Recognizing the movie’s similarities to the Biblical books of Job and Revelation, author Kevin Miller praises the film for presenting highly relevant spiritual questions in an entertaining context:
While the theology of this film is far from orthodox, the themes and questions it raises are a different story. Few Christian films have done a better job of depicting the difference between works and grace. And few mainstream films offer such a strong affirmation of the spiritual dimension of life, showing it to be every bit as real and consequential as the physical. Constantine also addresses a number of spiritual questions that seem particularly pressing at this point in time, questions like “Is God good?” “Does He have a plan for me?” “Is He out to get me?” “Is He even there?” and “What must I do to be saved?”
It’s an interesting perspective on the film, coming from an interesting publication. Relevant represents the crystallization of what I’ve seen as a growing trend in the the last few years: evangelical Christians of my generation and a little older who’ve opened themselves and their faith up to all aspects of politics and pop culture, rather than walling themselves off from the world.
While I’m not an evangelical Christian myself, I think this is a refreshing change and hope to see more of it. Such an outlook can only be beneficial to relations between those of all faiths.
(Props: The Revealer)
I ran across an interesting mainstream/Hollywood/“liberal” review of the movie (on MSNBC, I think) that found “refreshing” the whole idea of Good and Evil and Heaven and Hell being “real.” Which, for someone who’s been reading fantasy and comics for decades (let alone movies like “The Prophecy” and the like), I found kind of an odd.