Nerds That Geek Movie Review: ‘The Prophet’s Son’

Written by John Edward Betancourt 

I am a firm believer, that if one identifies themselves as a cinephile, they simply must be open to watching motion pictures from just about every genre imaginable. Because one can find some magnificent and beautiful stories, and outright art when multiple genres are explored and that is precisely why I personally make an effort to watch anything and everything that catches my eye when I’m surfing through cable channels or perusing the various streaming services that I’m a member of. In fact, I’ve gone so far as to take the time to dive into films that are dedicated to the wonder and power of religion and faith, simply because I’ve found some inspiring and uplifting moments in films of that particular vein.
 
But what truly fascinates me about faith-based films, is how exactly they present their underlying message when it comes to the need for people to have religion and God in their lives. Because their sole purpose is to bring people to church or back to church and some movies in this genre do a fine job of getting their message across by providing the audience with an entertaining ride that leaves them with something to think about. But others, well…they make the message the priority over anything else, leaving us with some interesting results story wise and recently, I stumbled upon a faith-based feature that meets that criteria to a tee in The Prophet’s Son.
 
Now, I make a grand effort to try and find the positive in every film that I watch, because I understand that not everyone has millions of dollars to make a movie, and I don’t think anyone ever sets out to make a bad movie, but sometimes, you need to be frank about what you find to not mislead folks, and well dear reader, I have to be frank and honest in telling you that this is an extremely bad motion picture, for several reasons. First and foremost, the plot in this movie is just an utter mess. For what should be a simple love story about two people in the midst of a global crisis is muddled by a seemingly random series of events, each one designed to provide the audience with a grand lesson on faith and sadly, the messages are where this movie goes completely off the rails. 

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​Which is fascinating to say the least. Because it really does try to tackle some important topics happening in our world, like school shootings for example. But rather than dive into any depth on issues such as that, or demonstrate how faith and religion may benefit those who suffer through trauma, the movie goes old testament on its audience and more or less informs them; that bad things are going to happen to you if you don’t fall in line with God and well, that’s just off putting. Because no one settles in to a watch a motion picture with the expectation that they’re going to be scolded, but that’s what you get here, an hour and a half guilt trip for not going to church on a Sunday and well, that completely removes you from the story or the experience and the movie’s faults don’t end there.
 
For this is a motion picture that quite frankly, needs some top notch acting to be present to sell the heavy plot points this film features, since it goes so far as to even deliver us a loosely explained all-out attack on the United States and sadly, the performances fall short in making these moments believable in the slightest. Everything is handled by a vast majority of the cast with wooden responses and dry delivery and really the only actor in this film that’s worth a watch is Alexandra Harris, since she puts great effort into the role of Juliet, but her acting chops are buried under a sea of D-list performances and really, all of these failures are a shame when all is said and done.
 
Because this movie had the potential to do something really special, and if writer Sun Hui East (who adapted her novel of the same name for the screen) had taken the time to provide the audience with a gripping story that showed us people dealing with believable crises, and not say, an oddly placed demon possession scene (no joke, that actually happens), then perhaps a beautiful parable about faith in a time of need could have come forth and actually made people wonder if they need a little more in their life when it comes to faith and religion. Instead, we are left with a sloppy, judgmental mess that more or less puts a sour taste in your mouth when it comes to organized religion and I highly recommend that you avoid this one at all costs.  

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