Judgment

In an unidentified period in the future, nations become just one in the One Nation Earth, leaded by Franco "Lucifer" Macalousso (Nick Mancuso). The Christian opposers, leaded by Helen Hannah (Leigh Lewis), are systematically eliminated and Helen is put on trial in the O.N.E. Court of Justice. Her lawyer is Mitch Kendrick (Corbin Bernsen), a man who lost his father, murdered by the followers of Lucifer, and the attorney is his ex-lover Victoria Thorne (Jessica Steen). On the beginning of the trial, Mitch changes the defender, stating that Jesus Christ should be judged, and not his follower Helen, beginning the greatest trial in the history of mankind. The premise of "Judgement" is very interesting, but the movie is horrible. The screenplay is awful, having situations, development of characters and lines very shallow, and sometimes very ridiculous. The acting, with the exceptions of Leigh Lewis and Corbin Bernsen, is terrible. The "actor" called "Mr. T" is unbelievable, probably one of the worst performance I have ever seen. A couple of weeks ago I saw another Christian movie ("Left Behind") and I liked it, but "Judgement" is really a bad movie, for Christians only. My vote is four.

Title (Brazil): "O Julgamento" ("The Judgement")

Lo, there shall be an ending! And with "Judgment" the Helen Hannah End Times saga draws to a strong finish that course corrects the misstep that was "Tribulation." In fact, "Judgment" all but ignores that anomaly by returning to "Revelation" and bringing back its breakout character Willie and giving a larger role to widow Selma Davis. This film features a compelling courtroom drama ably led by Corbin Bernsen leavened with an action-packed subplot starring Mr. T plotting a daring rescue raid on the One Nation Earth courthouse where Helen Hannah is being held prisoner.

The supposed star power of Gary Busey, Margot Kidder, and Howie Mandel in the previous picture "Tribulation" is dimmed and outshone by that of Corbin Bernsen and Mr. T in this one. Bernsen plays with aplomb defense attorney Mitch Kendrick, set up to fail in a scripted show trial the outcome of which is predetermined. Of course Mitch flips the script and engages in some courtroom hijinks that were inventive and exciting. I never watched Bernsen's 1986-94 legal drama "L. A. Law," but his impressive performance here has me wanting to check it out and to see more of his work.

Mr. T is Mr. T and we wouldn't want him any other way, right? I mean, he is B. A. Baracus all the way, stewin' and fussin' in the van, firing a million rounds of a high-powered weapon and hitting nobody, and surviving unscathed an incendiary grenade that detonates about a foot away from him. Fun stuff. His presence added immeasurably to my enjoyment of the film.

Also buoying this fourth film up and beyond its predecessor was its rightfully returning Leigh Lewis as Holly Hannah to a starring role. After mostly warming the bench for the last two pictures, she gets her turn at bat and knocks it out of the park. Lewis really held her own in those intense scenes with Bernsen. No mean feat, I'm sure.

The film isn't perfect, of course. When Mr. T is getting his phony mark of the beast the cameraman has Mr. T's face blocked by the actor playing the technician. That was just sloppy direction. That technician also tells Mr. T afterwards that his hand will feel like it was in a waffle iron. But later Mitch Kendrick peels off his phony mark like a Cracker Jack box tattoo. Continuity has never been this series' strength, from Macalousso's ever-changing appearance (he goes for the blow-dried look in this picture) to characters inexplicably returning from the dead (no complaints, however, as I really liked Patrick Gallagher's unsung hero Jake Goss).

Speaking of returning characters, I cheered when Willie Spino was called as a witness! Wow, great to see Tony Nappo again. He gets one scene and showboats all the way through it, much to my delight. I only wish the alluring Carol Alt had returned as Cindy, the Jezebel to his King Ahab. A plot point I wish were developed further was Macalousso's drawing out people's innate abilities of telekinesis, as with Willie, but also presumably ESP. Macalousso revealed he possesses the ability to read minds when visiting Mitch and knowing his suicidal thoughts, secret sins, and soul-crushing shame.

Another strong performance was Jessica Steen as prosecuting attorney Victoria Thorne. She mentions that Satan is called "Lucifer" in the Bible, but good luck finding a modern translation that retains that term. "Lucifer" appears only once, in Isaiah 14:12, and you'll find it in the tried n' true translations of yesteryear like the Douay-Rheims and King James, while most modern (per)versions of God's Word substitute the phrase "morning star." But in Revelation 22:16, Jesus Christ declares himself to be the "bright and morning star." Why would a translator use the same term for Satan and Jesus? Mayhaps Macalousso's minions are already at work subverting truth and sowing confusion? (On this topic, a highly recommended documentary is "New World Order Bible Versions.")

Bernsen's greatest moments are those where he's cross-examining the Antichrist himself. He poses a powerful question: Millions of Christians have given themselves over to martyrs' deaths rather than renounce Christ. Who in this courtroom would take a bullet for Macalousso? Cue the crickets. Meanwhile Mr. T is doing Mr. T things and bringing the series across the finish line. He even gets the last word!

The making-of feature on the DVD is worth watching if for no other reason than to see Mr. T singing "Happy Birthday" to Corbin Bernsen on his 46th birthday in September of 2000. Another fun clip shows Mr. T joking with his stand-in, referencing Clubber Lang and "The A-Team." This feature also reveals just how young writer/director Andre van Heerden was. Still in his late twenties, it led me to forgive a lot of the series' shortcomings. Andre appears to have left the glitz and glamor of the Toronto movie scene as IMDb lists his last credit in 2016.

Most annoying character award goes to Selma Davis, who when she wasn't badgering and belittling Mr. T was making a self-righteous speech. Her grandstand play in court served more to elevate her outsized ego than forward the cause of Christ. It was a stretch that this character even got into the heavily guarded courtroom as if on cue, and then could spontaneously pour forth pages of apologetics cribbed from Lee Strobel's "Case for Christ." I felt a twinge of conscience in joining with Macalousso's mob in cheering when Selma was ordered removed from the courtroom!

Most superfluous character award goes to Dawn, the blink-and-you'll-miss-her recruit with the bad Scottish accent she likely learned watching "Star Trek" reruns. I thought, whose girlfriend is she that she landed this role that served zero purpose in the plot?

Random thoughts:

Only film of the series refreshingly free from televangelist clips (though apparently Jack Van Impe visited the set and indulged in an Epic Rap Battle of Bible verses with Nick Mancuso, the devil himself! Okay, I lied about the "rap" part, but the behind-the-scenes feature confirms the rest. Man, I wish there were video of that titanic throwdown!).

The frequently seen portrait of Franco Macalousso from a distance looks uncannily like that of Mormon prophet Joseph Smith. Intentional, providential or just serendipitous?

Selma mentions her husband being murdered in front of her (in "Revelation"), but no mention is made of her ill-fated young daughter. I thought that was a grievous oversight, as losing a child would at least equal the heartbreak of losing a spouse.

I initially suspected the character "Mitch Kendrick" was a wink and a nod to fellow Christian filmmaker Alex Kendrick, of "Fireproof" and "Courageous" fame, but Kendrick's first film "Flywheel" was still a couple years away at the time of "Judgment."

In closing, I rank the films with "Apocalypse" as the best of the bunch, "Revelation" and "Judgment" a virtual tie and bringing up the distant rear "Tribulation." If I didn't have the four DVDs in a nice box set, I'd ditch "Tribulation" as it really has no bearing on the series' overarching narrative and has no rewatchability appeal.

I'm glad I finally saw this series 20-plus years after its release. But... when push comes to shove, and I can only take one End Times movie tetralogy to that desert island, it would have to be the O. G. "Thief in the Night" saga of the Seventies and Eighties. I just hope Gilligan can pedal fast and long enough to keep the DVD player powered up!

This is the fourth film in a series following the movies "Apocalypse", "Revelation" and "Tribulation" and for those who have seen the third movie ("Tribulation") they will realize that it starts off with a big surprise: "Helen Hannah" (Leigh Lewis) is not dead. Instead the guillotine blade was stopped by the anti-Christ "Franco Macalousso" (Nick Mancuso) just prior to killing her. The reason for this is because Franco Macalousso wants to stage a "show trial" to convince everybody that "the Haters" (i.e. Christians) are an enemy who need to be exposed and exterminated if they don't receive "the Mark". As a result a top attorney by the name of "Victoria Throne" (Jessica Steen) is selected to prosecute the case and ensure the maximum propaganda effect. On the other side is a lawyer named "Mitch Kendrick" (Corbin Bernsen) who is essentially drafted to stage a fake defense. But Mitch doesn't like the hand he is dealt and decides to change the nature of the trial so that God is the defendant and Hannah is merely his puppet on a string. Although Franco Macalousso likes the idea Victoria realizes that her carefully crafted script is now useless and that she no longer has complete control over the course of the trial. At any rate, rather than disclose what happens next I will just say that this was an entertaining addition to the series which had some good points and some bad points as well. I liked the actors involved and the overall story. However, the script was extremely uneven and the sets were also rather limited. Even so I think most people who enjoy films of this nature will like this one too. Slightly above average.

Poorly made propagandist film that is fourth in the line of similar. the devil (Mancuso---why oh why Nick?) as Satan goes to the trouble to try a holy-roller in court. Eh? Why bother? CLOUD TEN has yet to prove it can do anything more than film a religious tract. I know Mr. T needs the work but why Nick would bother, I do not know. If one were to make an attempt at allowing logic in this film it vanishes with bad editing and poorly contrived sets. The shark cage type cell the defendant is place in is amusing as is "Corbin Carbolic's" attempt at high drama.Waste of film...waste of time.

Jessica Steen's character was not typical to any she has played in the past, thus her believable performance was quite an achievement. She is a very talented and diverse actress still waiting to truly be discovered!