God’s Not Dead: In God We Trust Review
God’s Not Dead: In God We Trust (2024) Film Review, a movie directed by Vance Null, written by Tommy Blaze and starring David A.R. White, Ray Wise, Samaire Armstrong, Dean Cain, Scott Baio, Isaiah Washington, Charlene Tilton, Andrea Logan, Holly Ward, Isabelle Almoyan, Alicia Fusting, Vincent De Paul, Kristin Wollett, Cassandra Dawn, Caroline Avery Granger, Maurice Johnson, Brian Scott Gilmore and Holly Anne Jones.
Director Vance Null’s new film, God’s Not Dead: In God We Trust, is the fifth entry in a moderately popular film series that usually serves to inspire its audience. In this entertaining movie, a single mother named Lottie (Samaire Armstrong) stands behind Reverend David Hill (David A.R. White) who goes up against an antiquated politician named Peter Kane (Ray Wise) to win votes while both run against each other for Congress. In the Reverend’s efforts to maintain Christian values in modern-day politics, he finds that the realities of the political arena include the fact that it’s hard to play fair in the quest to make a difference in the world.
Scott Baio plays Lottie’s ex-boyfriend. Baio’s character wants to re-establish his relationship with Lottie but she’s changed a lot for a very particular reason regarding something that happened in their relationship from the past. Lottie has a plan to bring the Reverend David Hill into the race for Congress when Peter Kane’s opponent drops dead out of thin air. Kane is sympathetic to the death of his competitor and thinks he will now win by a landslide until the Reverend decides he wants to go against Kane who threatens to close places with religious affiliations that make a difference in the world.
Dean Cain portrays a guy with a big bankroll who has the ability to make things happen and because of his large wallet, he can help fund a major campaign. Isaiah Washington, in a fine turn, serves as Senator Smith who encourages the Reverend to compete in a race where winning may seem impossible in the grand scheme of things. That’s because Kane doesn’t play fair and spins things around regarding the Reverend’s goals in order for Kane to get the attention of potential voters.
There’s a lot going on in God’s Not Dead: In God We Trust. The plot is oversimplified but raises a lot of important questions about the separation of church and state. This film shows Ronald Reagan’s comments during his presidency where Reagan pretty much stated that if we eliminate God from our lives, the world would begin to worsen as a result.
David A.R. White has been in the previous films and is very personable and believable in this role. Ray Wise was in the second film in the series where he played the one out to stop Melissa Joan Hart’s character from being able to say the name of God in her school. All these movies are interconnected, including the presence of the musical group group, Newsboys who show up in this new film to add a song or two to the soundtrack.
Samaire Armstrong’s character has a young kid who wants to go to Disney World and Lottie does what she does in the movie in order to be able to take care of her child. She has a good connection with the Reverend David Hill but is she willing to go all the way with supporting his campaign even as people like Baio’s character threaten to undermine her attempts to jeopardize the expected win of Kane?
This film has a lot of good scenes which shed light on the lack of really thoughtful politicians in the country today. Every one of these politicians seems to have their own agenda but Hill is a bit different. The Reverend Hill’s plan is to sort of streamline his ideas to make an impact on the every day person and those who are less fortunate as well. While the movie charts a lot of obvious territory by going down familiar roads in the plot, White’s performance shines through and makes the viewer want to root for him. The sincere Armstrong character seems to be supportive but, at times, she becomes overwhelmed because of the fact that Kane seems to have the upper hand because of his already established reputation.
God’s Not Dead: In God We Trust is more political than anything else but the movie doesn’t get overly preachy. It lays out the facts that exist in the country through the concept of the separation of church and state. What the Reverend does is try to encourage voters to make their own minds up as to who should be in Congress rather than letting the most popular candidate win and dictate their lives for them.
This is certainly not the best film in the franchise but it is very earnest and, surprisingly, very interesting. A movie about religion and politics could become a disaster in the wrong hands but the director, Null, delicately walks a fine line between becoming too religious and political and simply presenting the film’s case and letting the viewer decide what the best course of action would be for voters within the picture.
Of course, the movie takes the side of the Reverend because he has ideas that will be beneficial to both his faith and society today. God’s Not Dead: In God We Trust has good performances and feels relevant in an election year such as this one. Of course, it’s too overly simplistic and pat but White plays his role strongly and makes the film a bit of a hopeful one in a time where many are wishing for fair and helpful political resolutions in the world this year. As a faith-based film, it is a success.
Rating: 7/10
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