I just saw a Christian Multiversel Science Fiction film (yeah that's what I said) titled The Shift starring Neal McDonough and uhhh Sean Astin and some other cast members who you may or may not recognize from various B-roles.
Like most multiversal movies, it has plot holes you can fly a TARDIS through but with that aside, I have to say... I liked it. Angel Studios made this film and if they sound familiar, they are the same people who made The Sound of Freedom. Like that film, this is a properly produced film. There's none of the amateur hour production values with the same cast of Christian film actors like you'd expect if you watch Christian films and while there is obvious proselytization, it's not overbearingly unsubtle.
The film actually had some neat worldbuilding and plot elements and I love multiverse type things so I was all on board. The acting was fine. The sets and locations were neat, especially for a film that was made on a budget that's like a quarter of that of your typical twenty two minute long She-Hulk episode. There aren't even any narmy or emotionally cringe scenes in the film.
Drawback wise along with the standard multiverse plotholes, the main thing is that there are some narrative dumps, the movie pacing can be off and bloated in some respects and while I like the worldbuilding it's still kind of shallow which isn't too big of a concern but the idea of a multiverse is what the narrative is built on and while it's explained (probably to the absolute confusion of boomers in the audience) it's not very deep in the specifics of how it works.
With that said, the film is still solidly made and SUBVERTED my expectations. This is a Christian movie so I KNEW what the moral messages would be, this film is using its multiversal storyline as a metaphor for the Biblical story of Job and the film itself basically states as much. So the main character, removed from his drudgery filled life ends up in a crapsack world whose law enforcement reminds me of the Combine from Half Life which is a plus IMHO.
The themes are presented pretty well. I figured the it'd be predictable and while the main moral quandries and their solutions were "predictable" the way it was presented and handled and portrayed was exceptional and genuinely surprising. It presents more of a conclusion then "This is a Test. Jesus will save me. I win." It takes time to explain the reasoning, the temptation, the motivations of the characters and why this is a Test. Why they make the choice beyond "God Divinely Commanded Me Too" and so it treats the audience as having a desire to see something far more in depth narrative wise then you'd expect from some cheap moral messaging Christian film.
With that said, I'd recommend this film to Christian audiences. I think they'd like what is a fairly original storyline and setting (how many professionally produced Christian films take place in a Multiverse really?) but as for the Godless normies, if your curious, give it a watch. It does preach to you. The Christian themes are obvious, but they are more subtle then in a standard Christian film and if the Christian themes stand out... you have to ask yourself if it stands out more then the social and moral messaging you see in other mainstream movies. I don't think so. But YMMV. It's not really a film made for non-Christians unless you have some curiosity to see it with a generally open mind.
So yeah, overall recommend to watch. It's not a movie made to be seen in theaters, but Angel Studios will get more of a box office cut if you do.
