User reviews

I came thoroughly prepared to trash Persecuted and I was not disappointed. This film which is being hawked as the fundamentalist world view or at least American view is like watching this country through Alice's Looking Glass.

In the not too distant future an ambitious Senator played by Bruce Davison has it in mind to create something called an all faiths bill where folks from a different faiths will be required to recognize each other's diversity and not say anything bad about each other.

Standing in the way of things is leading evangelical James Remar who insists on the biblical promise that Jesus is THE only way to God's forgiveness. When Davison tries to get him on board Remar who comes off in this like a poor man's Harrison Ford gives a resounding 'no'. After that he's framed for murder and he's running like Richard Kimble, but he fights back as best he can.

As if we haven't had enough religious figures in scandal. Jimmy Swaggart, Jim Bakker, Bishop Eddie Long to name a few. I sincerely doubt anyone would have to frame someone. But he's set up beautifully with a young teenage girl who later winds up dead and there's video to prove it. Not to mention all the priests who've been caught playing slap and tickle with altar boys.

If there's anything wrong with this old world today it's too many people insisting their religion is the only way. I'm sure there are similar passages in all religious scripture saying their's is the only true faith.

Interesting also that Persecuted came out at a time when five Catholic men ruled that a fundamentalist employer called Hobby Lobby has a religious exemption female employees can't get contraception. We've also seen the state of Mississippi pass a law codifying that businesses with owners who have sincere religious beliefs about gays doesn't have to deal with them. An anti-gay rights legal firewall before any gay rights laws are passed.

Of course Christians are indeed Persecuted in many places on the globe, most notably in Sudan. But the slaughter of non-Moslems in that country is somehow the equivalent of some employer wanting to not deal with openly gay people or heaven forfend the idea of LGBTQ people having some kind of rights including marriage.

But there will be an audience out there for Persecuted who think this is the wave of the future.

Well boys and girls you're just going to have to get used to the idea that everyone who thinks as you do are not the only ones who have some rights on this old world.

Persecuted is one arrogant movie in its concept and execution.

Personally I'm unaware that Christians are being persecuted in the U.S., so if you are and this is an important issue to you, you'll probably see the film in a different light. It seems to me that most of the televangelists who have been exposed for sexual and financial mis-deeds (Jimmy Swaggart, Jim Baker) were actually guilty of these mis-deeds, but I'm also skeptical about the justice system and I like a good conspiracy film.

Putting aside the basic theme of the film, and looking at it only as a movie, the film is certainly not big screen worthy. The plot moves so slowly you'd think this was a French film. The actors are all first rate actors, but they must have been phoning it in for this film. James Remar is particularly disappointing, but perhaps I associate him too much with films like "The Warriors", "48 Hrs", and "Cotton Club". The plot is also a little silly, and there are so many plot flaws you keep asking yourself questions like "Why didn't he make a copy of the video?"

Daniel Lusko, the writer/director says he was inspired by the "Holy Spirit" and that seems evident. It's a film that speaks more of inspiration than aspiration or perspiration. Many of the people involved in the film are first timers, and for a first time production, the film is pretty good, but still not ready for prime time.

The film was originally screened at the National Religious Broadcasters convention and again at the Conservative Political Action conference. These seem to be appropriate venues for the film. But the big screen – no.

Plot

An evangelist finds himself framed for murder and on the run after he refuses to back a senator's proposition calling for sweeping religious reform.

Cast

A lot of people I'm very disappointed in such as James Remar, Bruce Davison and Dean Stockwell while made by the same sadsack who made the new Christmas anti-cancel culture movie.

Verdict

Lusko's new juvenile Jingle Smells was unintentionally hilarious due to how offensively bad it is, this however is a different creature altogether. You see this is played so incredibly serious, a thriller/drama/melodrama/Christian foolishness.

Set in a world where Christians are persecuted by the big bad government. Yep, they went there. It's not a surprise really considering they generally believe that they are persecuted in real life.

It's a painful watch, full of cliches, bad writing and is more unbelievable than a Scyfy original.

This man needs to stop making movies.

Rants

Some people just NEED to be the victim, you can see it in IMDB reviews where people get offended or feel attacked and you can see it in the world. Men who feel like misandry is actually a thing, straight people who don't understand why straight Pride isn't a thing, Christians who think they can't say merry christmas and they're being persecuted and around and around we go. If you want to be a victim and have no persecutor, make one in your own mind.

Breakdown

Embarrassingly written Concept is ridiculous Director is incompetent on every level.

I watched the movie and was shocked that the "bad guy" is a senator that is trying to legislate a bill that guarantees religious freedom and tolerance.

The "good guy" on the other end is a preacher that is against religious freedom and states that only Christian faith is acceptable. This is really really not up to democratic and modern standards.

This is purely a Christian propaganda film that is supporting intolerance. I do not know how anything like this is even made in the twenty-first century.

This is the worst movie I have seen in years.

This one's gonna compete with "God's Not Dead" and "America: Imagine the World Without Her" for a Razzie in the God 'n Country Division.

I'm amused how the lead character is described as "The last obstacle to sweeping religious reform in America...". In other words, a theocracy in which everybody's a Christian. How could there be anything else in This Great Christian Nation?

All you really need to know about this film is (1) Glenn Beck was a silent financial backer, according to Christy Lemire of rogerebert.com; and (2) respected character actors like Bruce Davison and James Remar must have been hungry and broke with winter coming on to take these roles.

This storyline, in capable hands, could have made for a really good movie. This ain't it, not by a long shot, though the "Duck Dynasty" crowd will love it.

At least I'll give it this: "Persecuted" had more laughs than "Sex Tape": One.

I attended a free showing tonight at a friend's church. I already had low expectations for this film, but even those were too high, apparently. This film is more than Right Wing Propaganda. This is a film so forced, it leaves any rational person scratching their heads. The whole film reads like an aborted subplot from the Left Behind series (and I admit I have read all 12 of the core series, even though I thought those seemed forced at times). None of the characters in this are at all relatable except to Christians who believe they are being persecuted by "The Liberal Media" in the United States.

Just perusing the cast list, however, it should be obvious to anyone this is steeped in Hard Right bias (Fred Dalton Thompson and Gretchen Carlson are listed among the cast).

If you want a film about people fleeing from persecution, watch Rambo. If you want a Right Wing film, I'd suggest Atlas Shrugged. But if you want a movie that is horribly plotted, horribly acted, and makes zero sense, this is the movie for you.

Persecuted is a very apt title as watching this religious mumbo jumbo was persecutory! Everything is contrived, even the preachers name. Propaganda reigns supreme, the poor Christian right being marginalised by an increasingly diverse religious society. Right wing conspiracy theorists will love this but it is dreadful from start to finish, even good actors could not save this garbage.Religious freedom features heavily but only appears to support christians! Very slow moving film, plot flaws everywhere and cheap looking, defo looks like a made for TV movie and should be restricted to god channels. Save 90 minutes of your life and give this a miss!!!

I disagree with the reviewers who called this movie "pure Christian propaganda." There was nothing remotely Christian-like in this piece of narcissistic fantasy. Generally I love Christian movies, even when the production quality is slightly below par. But this one was just awful.

Badly written (or edited), the script was extremely disjointed, and defied all logic as it jumped from scene to scene with no way to interpret what was happening. And the worst: if viewed by non-Christians, the message is one of extreme intolerance. Totally incongruous with the Christian values shared by millions.

This movie deserved a zero rating, but the lowest rating available was one.

This film was somewhat embarrassing from a Christian standpoint. There was no persecution. And there were no Christians. I didn't see any representation of anything that looked remotely Christian. It was a low budget b movie that was horribly one dimensional. I'm sorry to report this because I wanted it to be better.

If you want a good movie about being persecuted watch one of the ones that have been done about the Wurmbrands ( Richard and Sabina)

Great thriller! Very truthful depiction of corruption from top to bottom! Great cast! I expect non-conservatives not to like it because of true story line of what is happening in the country right now, and what will happen even more in the future. This is a movie about freedom of speech and fight for it. It is also a movie about faith and how to keep and protect it even from friends. About how Judeo-Christian faith is different from all others, and for the ones who are not educated on Book of Revelation, it's not even making sense to be persecuted for what the hero is trying to protect the country from. It is about how somebody who gets out of mainstream mentality, can get in trouble looking like a criminal. About how those who are criminals can have power to discredit those who are not with them

After seeing the low rating for Persecuted I didn't have much hope for the movie. Now that I've seen it, I'd say most of the low votes are from people who didn't watch it and/or are politically motivated to give low scores/poor reviews to any Christian themed movie or any movie that portrays the direction of the country in a negative light.

Without giving anything away, I will say I found myself thinking midway through the movie that 10 years or so ago you would have had to have been some type of conspiracy nut to take this seriously. Today as our Presidents follow the law less and less, various federal agencies are arming themselves to the teeth and the NSA spying on everyone domestic and foreign, it doesn't seem nearly as far fetched.

Implausibly ridiculous!

Persecuted is a film that makes absolutely no sense whatsoever and its storyline could not nor would not ever happen in reality; but it has not stopped filmmaker Daniel Lusko from writing and directing the story to pander to the fears of the far political and religious right. This is yet another film made by a "Christian" filmmaker who wants to purport that he and others like him are being "persecuted" for their beliefs … seemingly forgetting what actual persecution is (I'd say ask Christ about it but He died from actual persecution).

The real kicker to the story: the "villains" of Persecuted are people merely seeking tolerance for all religion! It is an organization that seeks the approval of a revered Christian evangelist named John Luther (James Remar – Django Unchainced) to go ahead and begin worldwide operations with some sort of assistance from the US government (because that'd happen!). One seeking the vocal support of Luther is a US Senator (Bruce Davison – X-Men), who becomes downright frustrated when Luther speaks his conscious and says he cannot approve of a group that would place Christians at the same table as leaders from other world religions. Tolerance!? What are these despicable bastards thinking?!

The US Senator and some of Luther's own cohorts are so upset with his lack of cooperation, they decide to frame him for the murder of a young and innocent teenage girl! They get the girl killed but they are unable to capture/arrest Luther who proves to be a rather wily one. The damage to his name has been done, though … as everyone simply believes John Luther would just KILL this girl … just because. The world has turned against John Luther!

The entire film is a cat-n-mouse chase between Luther and those after him. As Luther has God on his side and government = bad, there aren't a whole lot of surprises as the film advances.

As the film culminates in a ridiculous stand-off, I was not able to shake the thought that the film's primary villains are people who seek tolerance and understanding of others so that there would be NO MORE religious war and leaders from all religions would respect one another enough to listen to others. TOLERANCE is the real villainy in Persecuted! Wrap your head around that one! This is frightening and I guess it is the world that some want.

Yoda got this one completely wrong: "Fear is the path to the dark side … fear leads to anger … anger leads to hate … hate leads to suffering." Who knew it all actually stems from TOLERANCE?

I hate to bad mouth this movie because somewhere underneath the stupidity and paranoia lies a meaningful cautionary tale and an interesting premise. Still, this thing is so bad and so nonsensical that it defeats its own purpose.

It's just all levels of terrible no matter what the intent or how earnestly they try to present the perils of a big soulless government. The title and a few lines of the film imply Christian prosecution but that subject matter is basically ignored in favor of a crazed anti-government storyline. I can't even call it a plot line because there is no coherent plot or character development.

On a side note, all I could think of watching Bruce Davison was that "Senator Kelly" has taken his mutant hating propaganda to the next level.

If I could have voted less than "1", I would have. AWFUL movie. I don't know why the actors took such crappy roles, but they must have been really needing the money! Honestly, it is just a right-wing propaganda film.... I would end the review here, but it is too short. So...I guess I have no choice but to bash it some more! The lighting was awful. The camera shots were confusing. The actors were OK, but the roles themselves were just not believable. The premise of the film was actually intriguing (otherwise I wouldn't have seen it), but they totally failed. There was no attempt to provide any background for the characters and the "persecution" was on an individual who just happened to be a Christian. Not of all Christians. I see how this would have been an "inspiring" film if you were a member of CPAC....but otherwise....nah. If you believe that the Gays and Muslims are soon to be beheading Christians in their front yards anyway now, then you will probably like this "movie". Otherwise don't wast your time!

This is no persecuted for Christ movie and is in no way a thriller movie i don't believe this. Persecuted i thought would be a suspense or thriller film about the tribulation but it wasn't.

I had expected much more of this film. I've been looking forward to it for months, having read about it in Brad Stine's e-mail newsletter. I had liked it on Facebook, saw all the trailers and news feed updates, and had high expectations. Well, I saw it this afternoon, and left feeling cheated.

I'm an evangelical Christian and a Tea Party conservative. In my mind, it is not outside the realm of possibility that it may one day become illegal to practice my faith. The Bible and the Constitution are both under attack in today's America. So I had hoped that this film would be a great dramatization about how that just might come to pass, because that's what all the hype pointed to. Well, if that's what they tried to make, they failed. Maybe my expectations on that front were too high. But it's not even a particularly good movie.

None of the characters are likable, and there is no time given for any real character development. Those who are supposed to be Christians are hardly shining examples for the faith, not what one would have expected from these producers. Brad Stine's character is particularly odious, and given that he's a Christian comedian, and listed as a co-producer, I have to wonder what he was thinking about. The "bad guys" are pretty much boilerplate. Fred Thompson plays the most sympathetic character, but his effect is diluted because his relationship with the preacher is not explained early enough. (Plus, I couldn't get his reverse-mortgage commercials out of my head!)

The music is ominous from the beginning, never seeming to stop, and the lighting is dark and stark. You can't support a nightmare scenario without first setting up normalcy. This film never does. The plot progression is confusing and portions of the action are not credible. There are some good production values, and I suppose it works on some levels as an action thriller, but I found it largely unsatisfying.

I had read some negative reviews this morning, but figured they were just examples of non-Christians who felt threatened. We've seen that with good films with a Christian message such as "Courageous," "Fireproof," and "October Baby." Turns out that this time, the secular reviewers were unfortunately right on. "Persecuted" is not what it was advertised to be. It is a huge disappointment.

A movie where the big bad government tries to promote religious tolerance and the loving Christians are forced to put up with it.

Can you say delusional?

The so-called Christians who make films like this insist on being attacked by the big bad government even though they got their so- called savior Trump in the White House. They insist on refusing change and yet wonder why more liberal Christians or others dislike them.

Why they can't make films where the Christians are more like Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Martin Niemoller or Martin Luther King Jr is a mystery to me.

"Freedom is fragile and costly and must be defended by work and by faith and even by blood." John Luther (Remar) is one of the premiere evangelists in the country and his opinions and values are widely respected. Senator Donald Harrison is championing a bill that deals with sweeping religious reform and he needs Luther's backing. When he refuses the Senator frames him for a murder and ruins his name. Now Luther must not only find who did this and why but he must also clear his name. My practice of not watching trailers before the movie has both good and bad points. The good points are that I don't know what to expect and any twists given away in the trailer are surprises to me. The bad thing about it is that I have certain expectations based solely on the poster or cover of the case. Most of the time it works in my favor. This is one exception. I was expecting a movie like Red State where there is an evil preacher. Without getting too political or religious I have to say the irony in this movie was very in your face. As for the movie itself this is yet again another movie where the idea is much better than the actual movie. This started off tense and interesting but quickly fell flat and uninspired. The best way to watch this movie is to watch the first 15 minutes and the last 5. Everything else is generic and flat. Overall, a movie that started off with so much promise but I quickly lost interest in and struggled to finish. I give this a C.

I read someone else's review before going to this movie which "almost" made me not go. Apparently, the person who wrote that review is "Christian-o- phobic". I am really glad I went anyway. Everything about this movie was First Rate. Sound, Graphics, Lots of excitement. It reminded me a little of a Harrison Ford movie. I also found it to be inspiring. We have all been forced to learn a lot about politics in the last few years. Unfortunately, this movie is not far from the truth. Maybe a few politicians will be inspired by it. I recommend every red blooded American should watch it. One of the best movies I've seen in a long time.