Reviews

Few episodes tackle such a controversial topic - subtly offering a mild support of something forbiddenly wrong - as this one. There are entire nations Americans loathe merely for having terrorists abide there - whether that nation endorses them or not.

One of the leaders involved in the Irish religious conflict was giving an interview on NPR, after the conflict was resolved. He made a point of great import: terrorists operate from a position of futility. Ie, terrorists don't expect to win; they try to forcibly impact the situation so that others can eventually provide the equitable outcome, as Finn does here. They expect to be martyred, not victorious.

Even ISIS, for those that have read deeply into their MO, do not expect victory via themselves; they and all terrorist groups already knowing they have not the power to overcome that which they fight against. Some may be surprised to learn that ISIS believes they are paving the way for their true savior - get ready - Jesus Himself - to arrive and set things aright (yes Jesus is a great prophet in the Qu'ran).

Finn's and his cohorts' Jesus is the Federation, which they believe has the overwhelming power to set things aright in their world, one that has oppressed them , with the right coercion. And like most terrorist groups, they are indeed martyred. But not all of them. Riker's greatly impressive statement to the chief enforcement officer - "Maybe peace begins with one boy lowering his weapon" - provides the possibility of hope that both sides want.

Richard Cox is brilliant as Finn: complex, talented, educated, dedicated, and ruthless. And through his articulation, we are forced to consider that position of futility, and why - from the point of view that our culture demands we should never consider lest we become sympathetic. And so in this episode, some risky and unpopular ground is trod in the process.

The great majority of us here in America would never agree with terrorism, and despite my seeming softness to terrorism here, I also deplore it, as the loss of innocent lives is always unconscionable. But by the end of the episode, we at least begin to understand the desperation that causes it, and the despairing futility that turns it so horrific.

For me, it was too sweet a story to be bothered by the things some other reviewers were annoyed by. As I'm not an atheist, angels are not forbidden territory. As I'm not a fundamentalist religious guy, metaphysics are also fine. And I admit to being a sucker for redemption movies, be it this, Shawshank, or American History X.

Of course this was not on the same level as those two, and it didn't have to be. I felt warm, felt good inside after watching this. So to anyone who feels any kinship to what I said here, give this a watch. You will also be rewarded with some sublime cinematography.

Actually my one complaint was not with the movie, it was with Tubi, which NEVER lets a movie's credits and outro music go to the end before starting another movie that you DIDN'T select. And I believe that in this case, it mattered a lot, since the final scenes of this movie were being shown as the credits were rolling - with what very well may have been the final very important one. Spoiler alert: the guinea pig. I knew it would happen. But I knew it likely didn't end there either; the final last scenes - thanks Tubi - we don't get to see.

Tomindc-54452 wrote the simple and perfect review. Read that one.

Mr. Stanton was one of a kind, and like the Mona Lisa in the aforementioned review, I expect Stanton's legend to swell to enormous heights in the years to come, as "Lucky" becomes the icing on the cake of "Paris, Texas" in this beloved man's contribution to engaging cinema.

And in his character's last line lies the subtle potential that undoes his character's own nihilism: nothingness + 1 smile = 1 smile. How many of us can smile at perveived fate? Many. Perhaps an infinity of us. 0 is as far from 1 as infinity. 0 vs infinity; darkness vs light. Interesting situation.

Amazing talent no-ego Viggo, as Ben the father, made plenty of them. But when the slap of reality was finally felt but good, Ben woke up to the realization that life on planet Earth, in America, moving forward at the clip it is, would have left his loving children - despite the knowledge and history he taught them - far behind.

This is a tale of multiple redemptions and awakenings for a father and his children. And not to be lost in it is also a stark reminder of the myriad egregious shortcomings and ignorances of typical America. Ie most kids do NOT know what exactly the Bill Of Rights is, let alone be able to quote a single phrase within it. How many could fill in the names of most states on a US map? Yet Ben's kids knew M Theory...

It's a presentation of great lack on both sides. Ben's kids, despite their survival prowess and exemplary knowledge, are hopelessly non-worldly in the world beyond the forest they know, and their cousins, typical American kids, know all the fashions and memes of the day but little actual knowledge, and would last not nearly a "fortnite" in Mother Nature on their own.

Reconciliation, redemption, resignation to the inevitable; all lessons learned in a world where true health of any kind - mental and emotional as well - is not possible without compromise. And failure in this abounds all around us, "in a thousand remarkable ways".

But if such is approached well, heck, one may even discover that most elusive grail of all - happiness. Ben, who did know the world he struggled to sequester his kids from - when it finally came knocking in brutal reality - found his true faith in them, releasing them from his woods and his ways, to the world.

Wonderful dissertations here on this movie. Almost as engaging as the movie was!

In a cryptic film where there is not one useless or wasted scene - or word - Corbo quietly gives the girl's identity away. I'm not the brightest card in the deck, but when Corbo says "You know everything", it brought all speculation to certainty. Only one can "know everything" here. Only one. And the whole thing gels together even without yet knowing the rest of the relevant minutia that follows. She already had her guiding pitchfork in him as soon as he began his entanglement in it.

Well you can't say that these fearmongers can't write a comedy, understated though it is. Much like "The Trouble With Tribbles", it is pure camp yet a bit of the sinister delicately installed.

Atomic bomb aftermath on a scale far beyond Earth, the allure and danger of addiction, the drug culture (yes caffeine too >>> it is ironically sold in schools by way of soda ya know...), and the episode is taking place during the Cold War with some subtle nods. And who could have even known then, as we now do, that yes! - the Milky Way really is heading to a collision with Andromeda.

Couple all this with seeing Morse and O'Connor in really offbeat (for them) and enjoyable roles, adding in Yeoman Rand as a jilted murderer, and the murder itself so dissected it becomes amusing, and ultimately thwarted, in direct violation of the orders 'from above' - because of the newly arrived austere inspector's growing affection for we silly Earthlings, with O'Connor's now-acclimated alien's fondness being already accomplished.....folks it's a truly enjoyable yet deeper-than-expected piece of science fiction, just as the writers intended, mixing a bit of comic relief from the usual dead-serious intensity but not eschewing the deeper messages of every episode, only camouflaging them a bit. As an 8 year old, this episode was boring. As an adult, not at all.

As in: he wasn't a spooky child, he was an *Angel*. And so was Mr. Potts (I don't think I'm giving anything away since at least on Tubi where I watched it, umm, 'Angel' is in the title). So of course the boy was wise beyond his years. The kid is a great actor too. I kept seeing Opie Taylor with glasses...and that's a big complement since imho Mr. Howard was the best.

Nothing wrong at all with a simple heartfelt movie. In a possible spoiler: it was never directly implied, but he could have been their firstborn. He was clutching the teddy bear - Samuel's favorite thing, and the young pics of Samuel looked rather like him (as if they were actual younger pics of the actor himself). Just sayin'...

In addition to every other accomplishment, these superhuman writers/directors know how and when - pun intended - to deliver moments of catharsis. The scene with Mikkel and Ulrich finally discovering each other again... When actors are no longer acting and have become instead of portray; when directors transcend the simple into the sublime, you can be rung like a bell.

For those wanting to tune in to this for either an excoriation or a vindication of this ultra-powerful group, you may be disappointed. The doc does provide examples of the misuse of power, but it also provides an interesting take on the literal words of Jesus as culled from the King James version of the Bible; it is a take that may not exactly be incorrect for one's personal quest for spiritual redemption, but for the case of the world condition, it is woefully inappropriate, though perhaps that aspect is over some of their heads.

The issue is that what is good for the one cannot be the same as what is good for the many. Trying to create a standardized 'one way fits all' approach to solve every ill in so many disparate nations has never worked. The very fact that this collective of powerful politicians has done nothing to advance any nation, whereas individual acts of work and charity apart from this group have greatly improved many individual lives - individually but not as a nation - showcases the "Family's" impotence, when it comes to raising a nation spiritually.

What it does do, whether it is the true secret motive or not, is to motivate segments of a nation's population toward a much more Puritan attitude, and hence, ends up dividing a nation. This causes the nation to weaken, and sets it up for political infiltration designed to corral that nation into the pathway for the Western religious/political/military stratagems to assert themselves. As such, the doc does frame out what appears to be another spoke in the wheel of American adventurism for political gain of power.

But as said before, strictly in terms of individual self, not en masse, the "Jesus + none" mantra of the "Family" can indeed work. The failure of this attempt to push it on entire nations either goes over the heads of otherwise dedicated people, or it presents these people as purveyors of deadly nefarious motives: in such a view, the Second Commandment is a vastly broken one - for they are all taking the name of the Lord their God in vain - in this case their own vanity via the zeal for a decidedly un-spiritual motive.

I will leave the decision up to the viewer; the doc presents the case for both sides of the proverbial coin: the profound and the profane in full view. Although, keep in mind, the 'defense' of the "Family's" agenda is mostly seen in the final installation.

It has been said that one of the Bible's chief points of contention is in the contradiction of statements attributed to God's harbingers and spokespeople, and even to God Himself. You can read anything into the Bible, and read it right out again. A look at history shows that a universal theology is an impossibility, even when some of the main tenets are agreed upon. After all, the three Abrahamic religions all use the Old testament, and all three even acknowledge Jesus as the master prophet at the least, yet even within each of the three religions there has been great tribalism, let alone the strife of the three with each other. But at the end of it all in this doc, there is no getting away from the simple fact that the "Family" are missionaries: proselytizing one way - their way - for all the world, and as said before, a universal theology is impossible.

So is this coterie what it says it is, or is it a camouflage for acquisition of power? Or is it both, depending on the person, and how dedicated, or piously gullible, or darkly motivated they are? You can be the judge; the facts are presented.