The Mark (2012)

Great Film overall

Excellent but underrated film

Don't listen to the Hype. It's awful

I like movies that are aware of what they are selling... without [any] greater aspirations than to make people laugh and that's it.

Being as spoiler-lite as feasible, here's my review as a Christian viewer.Christian films, particularly Christian fantasy films, often struggle to balance plot and religious undertones, which for the most part don't mesh very well in the film. Here, the action and religion seemed to be a bit divorced, with the religion being more isolated and forced. Flashback scenes can be used well, but when most of the spirituality is isolated to these scenes the divide just seems to broaden (and somehow I missed that it was his brother talking about God until near the end). Less concentrated but more spread out spirituality could have made the film feel more unified.I was also cringing at the explanation of the girl who was shot in his past as that seems to be a very ego-centric to Messiah-complex theology. The purpose seems to have been to take the conversation to God and the problem of evil, but there are less problematic ways to bring up the Bible. The plot also seems highly questionable, beyond the guns used on a plane not being more disastrous. Very little background background is given regarding the movie's MacGufin, a microchip, or why a an obvious-villain-trope group is after it. The promo for the sequel at the end of this movie gives more of these details than this movie. Much of the film is excessively stretched out and probably could have been condensed into 15-30 minutes. The whole side plot about getting into the cockpit seemed far from believable.Characterization of non-background characters didn't seem to go beyond stock characters for the most part. Real security should have been able to pick the villains out easily before they boarded. We also know nothing about them, particularly how they know about the chip and why they're after it. I mean, existing microchips aren't exactly worth trying to take out a plane. Plus, there was little done to distinguish the captain and the other uniformed dude who got shot, bloodied his shirt more than necessary, and didn't bleed to death with the lack of real medical support.Overall, really can't recommend this film for anything more than (sparse) background for the sequel, The Mark: Redemption. The potential for a good film fell short of the "mark" as it were.

The very premise of he movie is very unbelievable and forced. This movie has some of the worst delivery of dialog I have ever heard. The dialog is very clichéd and there is very little explanation as to why the chip is so important. The only thing that say about it is that is will change the world but not how or what difference it makes to Chad. The first third of the movie is like a bad remake of Die Hard, just on a plane. There are a series of flashbacks that are constantly repeated. Then it manages to just get stupid. The rapture? Really? Why would just their clothes be left behind? The most believable thing in the movie was Roberts as a bad guy as he never plays anything but. And finally, has anyone ever heard of a smart heroic "Chad?"

This was a surprisingly good movie that I thoroughly enjoyed watching. As a producer and director, I did find a few weak points of the film, but then again, that is part of my training.The overall story is strong, the acting is strong and the believability is strong from my perspective as a viewer who has watched and reviewed a plethora of movies while in film school and as a director and producer.THE WEAK AREAS:* The hand to hand fight sequences with the lead actor. It seemed obvious that little combat training or coaching, if any, was provided to the lead actor, Several fight sequences lacked enthusiasm, intensity, style or technique and reminded me of a horrible film pilot I worked on a few years ago, that didn't even make it through post-production. Those particular scenes were key to the conflict rise in the film and were pretty soft. It would've been better to have brought in a couple of stunt doubles for these scenes in the lower sections of the airplane cavities and made them more intense.* The airplane had no airplane noises, how is that possible?That was either an editor or director decision. Not having ambient airplane sound, even at a low volume was a really poor decision in this production, since much of the movie takes place in the plane.This was even more critical in areas of the plane where there absolutely would have been high volumes of sound.There is no excuse for poor sound design, since it does not affect the film budget or require much additional time in post-production to lay the audio track.* Everything about the story was tight, except for two areas of the film where it felt and looked like most "Faith Based Films". The story would not of suffered with a subtle approach. No one likes being pulled out at the beginning of the rising conflict to be told the motive up front. Find a way to reveal it without having to interrupt the flow with overtly obvious dialog.THE STRONG AREAS:The acting was very strong throughout almost all of the movie, Great actresses and actors, good story, very well told. However, out of the entire film, the weakest acting showed up with the lead character.Again, there is something about most faith based films when I watch them, that look almost identical from movie to movie, especially these end-time movies. I am a fan of end time stories, but to make them work, you must keep the intensity tight.I don't know if its the story, the Director interpretation of the story, the editor, or the actors inability to pull it off. It might even be all of them. There is just something undefinable that in one or two key scenes, the acting of the lead seem weak and unbelievable.I saw the same thing in the first two Left Behind series movies Kirk Cameron was in. The third Left Behind, "World At War" was the exception, with tighter acting and more believable acting. In World At War, they killed off the weak actor in the beginning which was the smartest decision that could've been made. Had they kept that weak actor, the film would've sucked, but instead it was one of the best faith based films about end time events, made to date.Conclusion:I really enjoyed this movie as a viewer and a film maker. As far as films with a faith based underlying theme, it was on the higher end of believability and entertaining.I've watched lots of higher budget films that were not as good as The Mark. If the writer, director and editor of The Mark sequel can manage to pull off the tight balance of telling the story subtly without creating a pause in the flow in its delivery of its motive, than it will be a winner.Worth watching - I think so . Movie Value - I gave it a score of 6. I would've given it a 5 1/2 if that rating was an option.

I really enjoyed watching this film and consider the time WELL SPENT. I just loved it. It's clean, unlike the genre's secular counterparts that are lousy with profanity and nudity, the latter of which usually occurs for no practical reason or necessity for the plot. The movie suspenseful and unique for its genre of Christian fiction. I have seen numerous faith-based movies, and this one is one of the best. When I choose to watch a Christian film, I don't look for astronomically expensive special effects or any other Hollywood "eye candy", for that matter. Christian movies are intended to vocalize and visualize the Christian beliefs, particularly the beliefs of the movie creators. And THAT is accomplished very well in this film. The film delves into the End Times prophesies and show one of the interpretations of the Book of Revelations. There is no requirement for anyone to agree with the authors — viewers simply get a chance to see a version of what the movie creators believe will happen. I think, it's great and wonderful to see the pages of the Bible come to life on the screen (or one interpretation of it). This movie has a target audience, and it meets the audience's expectations extremely well. The film did not have a massive budget for its making, so the viewer should accept it for what it is: a visual presentation of the fulfillment of the End Times prophecies (one interpretation). It is meant to tell people the Christian view of Salvation (the way to receive it) and to interpret parts of the Book of Revelation. And I believe, this film has fulfilled its purpose completely. It is even inspirational. In my opinion, most Christians, or anyone seeking God, will enjoy it. And don't read between the lines — the movie is pretty straight forward.