Movie Review: God's Not Dead: Let There Be Light

Thus far, the God’s Not Dead franchise has been defined by its vengeful hatred toward anyone who was not a hard right Christian. Characters in the first God’s Not Dead were punished with Cancer diagnoses and hit and run death, because they didn’t believe in God in the way the pious characters did. In Gods Not Dead 2, Ray Wise basically played the devil, persecuting a Christian teacher played by Melissa Joan Hart.

The very least that can be said about God’s Not Dead 3 is that it is not as bitter or hateful as the first two films. Star David A.R White surprisingly dispenses with some of the persecution nonsense in favor of something approaching nuance, at least for a Pureflix movie. God’s Not Dead 3 may have a silly, nonsense premise about people trying to tear down a church, but for the first time in the franchise the villains aren’t atheists who are punished with cancer or death.

Controversy stemming from the first two films in the God’s Not Dead franchise has caused a college to become uncertain about having a church on campus. Pastor Dave (White) was recently arrested and released after refusing to submit his sermons for examination of the church's tax exempt status. Pastor Dave was also on the jury for the case of a teacher accused of praying with a student, the plot of the previous movie, which brought further controversy to his church.

With mounting troubles, the University, which was also home to Josh Whedon’s battle with his Philosophy professor, Kevin Sorbo, wants to move the church off campus and build a student center where the church is. The divisive church has sent ripples through the community and one night an angry student throws a rock through a church window, which leads to a gas leak that kills a fellow pastor in an explosion.

Seeing the opportunity to condemn the church, the school begins the legal process of seizing the land. This leads Pastor Dave to call on his atheist brother Pearce (John Corbett), a Chicago lawyer, to defend the church. The brothers grew up in this church and, while Pearce has left the church, he readily returns home to help his little brother in his legal battle.

You might expect from that description that the villain here would be some evil atheist organization battling the pious church. Surprisingly, God’s Not Dead 3 places a pious Ted McGinley as the face of the university with legitimate points to make about the growing divisiveness coming from the church, the needs of the school now that it is a public university, not a private, religious college, and Pastor Dave’s own conduct, which comes into question when he is seen to assault a student believed to have caused the fire at the church.

The most interesting aspect of God’s Not Dead 3 is John Corbett’s Pearce, the first atheist to come out of a God’s Not Dead movie unscathed. Pearce is allowed to have his own relationship with faith not dictated by Christianity. While Pearce flirts with a return to faith, the film allows him nuance and the right to be different and even teach Pastor Dave a thing or two about love and tolerance.

Pastor Dave is surprisingly nuanced as well, to a point. While he is always the hero of the piece, Pastor Dave has a rare crisis of faith in this story and, for the first time in three movies, his character has a real purpose. White was the most compelling actor in each of the three movies, but being brought forward to star this time, it’s good to see him have a reason to exist in this movie.

All of this said, God’s Not Dead 3 is still not a good movie. First time director Michael Mason is still learning about pacing and character consistency but, most importantly, he needs to learn to keep a steady camera. The mise en scene of God’s Not Dead 3 is shaky and often oddly angled for reasons that are irrelevant to the story being told. The script relies far too heavily on telling rather than showing and that, plus the device of cartoonish news reports, render much of the movie borderline unwatchable.

Being the best of the God’s Not Dead franchise is a relatively low achievement, but God’s Not Dead 3 nevertheless holds that achievement. By not punishing those who disagree with them with cancer, or vehicular homicide, or a visit from Ray Wise as the devil/ACLU lawyer, God’s Not Dead 3 manages something approaching nuance and thoughtfulness beyond the notion of Christians are always right and everyone else is always wrong. It’s a minor step in the right direction, but a step nonetheless.