The Arnold Swartzenegger action thriller, "End of Days" is a big budget Hollywood offering with a uniquely Christain view. Without giving away too much of the movie, suffice it to say that the hero learns in the end that the way to final victory is through self-sacrifice. And Christ figures prominently in this revelation. This film is packed with exciting action and Christian overtones. Violence and language are often a "Hollywood" problem for some Christians, but this is a very good rental.
If CONTACT is ever made with an alien life form it may well be something like this movie. The film is based on a novel by astronomer Carl Sagan, which explains why it resembles science fact more than science fiction. Director Robert Zameckis begins with a view of the universe from within the eye of a young girl in love with knowledge. Jodie Foster stars as the young girl grown into an astronomer who makes contact with other worldly others. She eventually takes a journey beyond herself and beyond our world. This experience brings her much of the knowledge she loves, but little of the understanding necessary to give meaning to that knowledge. The questions of ultimate meaning in the film are posed by a character played by Matthew McConaughey. The character is a "priest" who discribes himself as a "man of the cloth, without the cloth." The movie moves smoothly between the realms of theology and science. The pursuit of truth becomes the central question and the answer is sought in several places. Hollywood has received much criticism over its unfair treatment of Christianity. It is a shame that the deepest overt theological conversation in the film comes when the unmarried lead characters are in bed. However, this movie, for the most part, deals fairly with questions of faith. When Foster's character, "Ellie" doubts the existence of God, McConaughey's character, "Palmer" asserts that just because something can't be proven doesn't mean it isn't true. He asks her if she loved her father. When she answers yes, he asks her to prove it. That there is no emperical proof of love, does not mean love does not exist. At a critical moment in the film, when "Ellie" faces the great unknown, her cries of "O God, O God" seem less the common expression and more a call for comfort and protection. Of course, the movie ends the way one would expect Hollywood to end such a movie. We hear clearly the typical secular humanist view that we can be sure of nothing but each other. It is refreshing that we also hear the Christian point of view. "Palmer" puts it best when he says that as persons of faith we are "bound by a different covenant." The priest provides a "compass" for this movie in more ways than one. Without giving away the ending, we can say that the movie concludes with a wonderful twist. "Ellie" is asked to defend her claim of alien experience, for which she has no proof. Her response sounds a great deal like the biblical proclamation of the gospel.
Another, more recent, movie with a unique Christian perspective is "Bless the Child." A little girl with strange and wonderful powers is kidnapped by a satanic group interested in using her powers for evil purposes. Her aunt, played by Kim Basinger, and a cop, played by Jimmy Smits, work to rescue and protect her. Their efforts are aided by the intervention of angels in a "Frank Peretti like" battle of good v. evil, played out in a way that Hollywood seldom depicts such things. This is another very good rental.