wr. stephan blinn and hollis barton
str. casper van dien, michael york, catherine oxenberg, michael ironside.
I am the alpha and the omega. As all things start off in me enthusiastic like a surge of caffeine through these tired pipes I call veins, so do all things get trashed when the joyful buzz of stimulants is lacking, including the non compos mentis of The Omega Code.Touted as a kickass Christian movie, The Omega Code is a further step in the stereotyping of today's modern Christian; intensely self-fulfilled and optimistic, to themselves fascinating. Unfortunately, also sadly geeky and anally retentive to everbody else not in the know, or in JC's house, or whatever.
It's a lazy movie, not only relying on but relishing the fact that it will pull a Christian crowd of some size, and it is squeezed out of the projector to push the buttons programmed (I searched for a nicer word but couldn't find it) over years of bible study. It's a shame, for the plot allows ample space to discuss religious themes in a modern, pop culture context, giving it more relevance. I wanted to walk out of the theatre still an atheist, but having experienced at least some kind of minor epiphany. Instead of any intelligent discussion required by the church and the Trinity Group (principal sponsors of this movie), the movie decides that it will preach hellfire, damnation and unquestioned principles.
I could have withstood the crappiest explanations for why you shouldn't divorce someone ("we made a promise"), and why you should believe (actually, there's no why? just a lot of repeating "with the faith of a child" in a funny accent) but ultimately it was the constant use of the word "evolution" that really pissed me off. You can believe in what you want, you can deny the causes of evolution, but to deny that evolution exists and is some kind of antichrist conspiracy is fairly dim, and argued on purely theological an not on scientific grounds. It's not surprising that this is the one issue that gets scientists all riled up - to deny something which is completely objective is a denial of the history of human rationality for the last two millennia and invokes that kind of psychotic Galilean response deep in their brains. And the affected, obviously $200 versions of "Ev-O-LUT-ion" regurgitated more than once! Bullshit.
Anyway, digression.
Basically the movie is so poorly made from an cerebral point of view that there is almost no point going unless you are so comfortable in the superiority of your faith that you are willing to sit through the bizarre lack of character pathos before they decide to Go Judeo.I found the opening moments especially interesting, as they involve Jews,and we know what they did to Jesus now, don't we? (Tongue in cheek? it's not actually antisemitic, and besides, the two prophets are foreign fellas with funny accents.) From there on we hit plot wall after plot wall. For example, the Omega Code is revealed to be a code that unlocks the Torah, giving out correct predictions. Predictions which invariably follow the Book of Revelations, apparently. So why everyone runs around trying to decipher this code when they could just get a bible out of the motel and use that is completely beyond me.
It may also amuse you to know that Jerusalem attracts so many psychotic people with grandiose delusions (invariably bearded and Gucci-shoeless) that it has become a fairly common hospital problem.
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