MEGIDDO

REVIEWED BY CHARITY BISHOP

Our rating: 3 out of 5

Because of: gruesome special effects, odd end times theology, and extended battle scenes

Rated:

Going into Megiddo, don't expect to pick up where The Omega Code left off, or even in the preceding years before the original took place. Apparently the reaction to Stone Alexander as the Antichrist was so strong in the Christian (and secular) communities filmmakers decided to try for a film more worthy of the character. This is Megiddo. It promises chills, thrills, and a climatic ending. And it more than delivers. We are introduced to Stone as a child beside his baby brother's crib. Filled with hatred for the child who "killed his mother" at birth, Stone is possessed by the devil and tries to burn the baby alive. Horrified, his emotionally distant father, a media tycoon, sends Stone to a strict military academy in Rome. There, hated by the other children who have named him the "baby killer," Stone is taken under the wing of a demonic prophet who affirms he will one day rule the world. 

His keen love of violence makes him unstoppable on the battlefield and soon Stone rises above his peers, destined for greatness. Even at this young age, he is feared and reviled... and all those who appose him are stricken ill and generally die. The head of the academy begins to suspect Stone is involved in some kind of evil... and is distraught when his only daughter, Gabriella, begins a romance with him. At his graduation from the military academy, Stone meets his brother David for the first time. The two are as different as night and day. While cold cruelty lingers in Stone's eye, David is sweet-tempered, gentle, compassionate, and loving toward their father. Gabriella is taken by the dramatic change between them but cannot go against the stronger force... though loving David she becomes Stone's wife. Together they build an empire of domination and control... Stone is building bridges in the four corners of the earth and Gabriella is happily feeding starving people all over the world.

Twenty-five years later David is the vice president of the United States and Stone is the leading commander of the One World Union. Stone is pressuring the President to join his trade federation in the hopes that the Latin's and Chinese, two other rebellious forces, will join suit. But President Benson has no intention of trading away his people's freedom, particularly to such a sinister good Samaritan. David encourages him to be careful -- strangely, whoever apposes Stone in business or pleasure usually winds up dead of "natural" causes. Sure enough with a touch of the hand the President is inflicted with a massive heart attack and within twenty-four hours David is the new leader of the United States. Stone welcomes him into world power... but with chilling strings attached. Unless David agrees to join the union, Stone will release through his media network footage of a murder committed several years before. In actuality Stone was responsible... but it is David's face on the security tape. In the meantime, Gabriella is beginning to doubt her husband's actions, resulting in a shaken empire.

Although the film is much more in-depth than some of its competition it's still not quite up to par. Many families will be driven away not by the climatic apocalypse but by the dark and sinister tone of the production. It follows not David's rise to power but that of Stone... the Antichrist. In this debatably one could argue the Devil got center screen for almost the entirety of the film. While it is fascinating to see the growing-up experience of Stone -- even unto his romance with a beautiful Italian girl -- it's also an eerie ride, made so by creepy visuals and strange ceremonies. There's also an element of suspended belief on the actuality of some of the President's maneuvers. Grotesque images are merely one of the problems teens should heed before too eagerly snatching this one up off the shelf. A few convincing "dog demons" make appearances in and around Stone's home. His prophet is both sinister and chilling in the coronation scene of the young Stone, in which he slices his own hand and with its blood draws an upside-down crucifix on the boy's forehead. Insects swarm from Stone's mouth, Satan morphs from Stone's body and plunges his claws into a character's stomach.

Although probably not meant to be seen in the way it was portrayed, people in a church surround David and beg for deliverance almost as if he were the avenging angel. Unless one is up on Revelations some of the events will seem disjointed and at times the film can be confusing. There's also an overly-long battle scene at the end in which many explosions take place, people are mowed down by machine guns, and tanks collide in violent exchanges. A man is thrown from a roof (we don't see the actual impact) and is found on the terrace below; his face and the cobblestones around him bloody. A cadet dares to cross Stone in military school and Stone arranges a little paint ball "accident" that is rather gruesome -- paint is sucked into his body through a wound and he coughs it up. The PG13 rating should be well heeded.

The first forty minutes of the film taking place in Stone's childhood and early adult years are the most compelling. These scenes are chillingly well done, particularly on the part of the innocent-faced little boy chosen for the role. The military mogul Stone is also terrifying... particularly in his scenes with Gabriella and her father. When Michael York takes over it's almost a disappointment, but soon his over-the-top personification picks up once more and the audience fears him for what he is as the film builds to an exciting climax. Stone Alexander is the ultimate villain and this film fleshes him out for real exploration of the realistic portrayal of just what the devil would be like in human form... full of obvious self-worship and exaltation. His blasphemous mockery of Jesus' sacrifice becomes all the more evident with passing time -- which is incredibly profound. Satan is full of himself, unwilling to believe he will be defeated, yet is unable to say Jesus' name even in the end. It shows how good things can be done with bad intentions in a poignant scene when Gabriella questions why Stone could feed the poor when all along he desired to destroy them. His chilling reply? "The quickest way to a man's loyalty is through their stomach." 

Much is also made of the media and its potential for evil. "People will believe anything they see on television," Stone marvels with cynical delight. The two singular complaints I had in the script itself was that while the Devil was portrayed excellently, his powers began to waver toward the end in dealing with his wife. If Satan is indeed the master of deceit, I would think Gabriella would easily convinced her husband meant nothing save good through his works. And the other is David isn't quite as strong of a character as Stone. It doesn't hinder the film any but a more powerful, authoritative figure on-camera would have given a far more striking contrast between good and evil.

Whether or not the viewer agrees with the theology of Megiddo, Left Behind, or any other End Times film, the Christian community is doing its best to become as good as secular companies. In the case of Megiddo, they've almost reached their peak. They may have gone a step too far in battle scenes and shock factor, but for older teens and young adults this will be a thrilling and often thought-provoking ride. Even if the film is not realistic in the fact no one knows what day Jesus will come -- or even if there will be a Tribulation -- it does support the truth: in the end God will win, and all those who appose him will be destroyed.