Jesus Revolution

Even if religion isn't an important part of your life this movie is spectacular in many ways. It begins with two different storylines which connect together seamlessly. The aspect of it that it excels in the most is that it shows how groups of people who appear to be pushing in two different directions can both be genuinely searching for the same goals and the good life. The movie examines the pitfalls of nihilism and absolute relativism but also how being closed minded to possibilities and ideas can be limiting. All of these themes are displayed without the movie trying to force upon its audience any particular set of religious beliefs.

Not only does the story have good pacing, it has just the right amount of humour, and the camera shots of the California coast are nostalgic and stunning. The acting is also quite good with Kelsey Grammer and Jonathan Roumie both delivering exceptional performances . The love story also feels reasonably organic and the soundtrack on its own is 10/10.

The only downside to it for me was that some scenes needed a bit more variety in their presentation. The latter half of the film seemed mostly filled with what I would call epic speech making and not so much natural dialogue. For those like myself who were fully engaged in the story this probably wouldn't be an issue, but for those not particularly enjoying themselves it could come across as rather corny and artificial.

Overall, I am a huge fan of this movie. I think it has a wonderful message of hope and love while also encouraging order and structure. I'd recommend it to anyone looking for a feel good movie that sends you away feeling optimistic.

This is how you make a Christian movie.

This is how you make a movie that makes a person think and feel a certain way when you leave the theater.

Like i've said many times, i rate movies by what they are suppose to accomplish and not the other hyped up things that dont matter.

This movie hits the nail on the head perfectly (for me anyways). It preaches to ALL audiences saved or not, and makes you think and makes you FEEL what the writer wants to say without hitting you over the head with a bible and losing 99% of the audience.

Very well written.

Very well acted.

Great sound track.

Awesome cinematography.

Didn't feel intrusive or too 'preachy'

It was a little preachy, but not in the same way most christian movies are.

I didn't know coming into this that this was also about Greg Laurie and his beginning. It didn't affect anything for me. Actually, it fit perfectly for me.

Watch this. You will NOT be disappointed.

A pastor in Costa Mesa (Kelsey Grammer) is concerned about the counterculture's obsession with drugs and loose sex, but also his dying church that isn't connecting with the youth. His daughter (Ally Ioannides) brings home a hippie "Jesus freak" (Jonathan Roumie) and he sees that he's genuine and gifted. The team-up sparks a movement that spreads for the next several years.

"Jesus Revolution" (2023) is a well-done account of the Jesus Movement in SoCal between 1968-1971. It's made in such a way that anyone who's interested in that era and the social upheaval that was going on will appreciate it, similar to "Forrest Gump" except with more overt spirituality. For instance, there's Janis Joplin, Timothy Leary and several iconic songs, e.g. "Free Ride," "Listen to the Music" and "War."

While I'm somewhat familiar with Greg Laurie and his ministry, I wasn't aware that he got his start in the Jesus Movement, nor was I familiar with Chuck Smith or Lonnie Frisbee, the latter of whom "backslid" and died of AIDS at the premature age of 43 in 1993.

Grammer and Joel Courtney are effective as the main male protagonists, Chuck Smith and Greg Laurie respectively. Meanwhile the lovely Anna Grace Barlow is a winsome revelation as Cathe, Laurie's potential girlfriend.

While not as inspiring as "War Room" (2015), it's arguably superior to "Do You Believe?" (2015), "God's Not Dead" (2014), "God's Not Dead 2" (2016) and "Overcomer" (2019). It's at least on par with any of 'em.

The film runs 2 hours and, was shot in Fairhope, Alabama, which is just southeast of Mobile, with several other scenes shot on-location in the coastal Los Angeles area.

GRADE: B+/A-

It's a religious revival drama set from 1969 to 1973 in Costa Mesa, California. It recounts the early history of the Christian Jesus Freak movement from the perspective of one of its early leaders.

The movie begins on two tracks that gradually merge. Chuck Smith (Kelsey Grammer) is the middle-aged pastor of a small non-denominational Calvary Chapel composed chiefly of elderly parishioners. He's out of touch with his daughter, Janette (Ally Ioannides). One day Janette brings home a hippie, Lonnie Frisbee (Jonathan Roumie), who has struggled with drugs but is now a fiery charismatic Christian with a strong Pentecostal bent. The film follows Smith's gradual integration of Frisbee and his friends into his church, which gradually explodes with non-traditional young people searching for a more long-lasting truth than drugs.

The parallel story follows Greg Laurie (Joel Courtney), the teenage son of a dysfunctional alcoholic mother (Kimberly Williams-Paisley). Greg goes through his own druggie period, during which he meets Cathe Martin (Anna Grace Barlow). Cathe leaves the drug culture first, and eventually, both are attracted to Calvary Chapel because of the charismatic Lonnie Frisbee.

"Jesus Revolution" follows some of the conflict and rupture between Chuck Smith and Lonnie Frisbee and takes us to the beginning of Greg Laurie's ministry at age 20.

"Jesus Revolution" was better than I anticipated. The editing and cinematography are of good quality. However, the script is relatively narrow and avoids addressing some key questions. It paints the conflict between Smith and Frisbee as personality differences and Friebee's hogging the spotlight. In actuality, their theological perspectives were very different. Frisbee believed in miracles and speaking in tongues; Smith did not. The film also avoids controversies that arose later around Frisbee, who also helped inspire the later Vineyard movement. The film ends at the apex of the Jesus Freak movement in 1972, after which it began a relatively swift decline. Smith and Laurie remained more subdued and ended up in the Southern Baptist Convention. Unfortunately, Kelsey Grammer looks the 20-years-older than the man he is portraying; someone else should have played Chuck Smith.

Thankfully, "Jesus Revolution" sticks to storytelling and does not try to convert the viewing audience. Persons with an evangelical background from the early 1970s might well enjoy this historical review.

Anyone who knows me, knows I really hate most Christian films, as the scripts are horrible, the storyline horrible, the acting horrible. This however, is none of that. This was actually a great movie; objectively speaking.

Where I had a problem was that this movie didn't actually share the Gospel that actually started that revival - which I was surprised, given this is based on Greg Laurie's book. I know all about Calvary Chapel, as that was my home church for over a decade. A great, Bible expository teaching, gospel centered church. But you got none of that here. What you got, was essentially the "American Gospel." - which is, come to Jesus for your drug addiction, brokenness (broken over what? They never say).

Before someone can truly repent and be "saved", they must know what they are being saved from. That we are sinners, a target of God's wrath, condemned eternally to hell. God, knowing we can't save ourselves, died in our place and took that wrath upon Himself. We come to Him because we are broken over our sin - that's why we're broken. Sure, Jesus DOES help with drug addictions, or anything else.

But before He can do that, we need to have a relationship with Him - which we can't have without first accepting His penal atonement for our sins. Only after our sins are covered can we enter His presence and have a relationship, and find healing for everything else.

I was truly surprised this was absent from the film, and they opted for the "it worked for you, maybe it can work for me" type gospel, as if Jesus is a free trial, and not the eternal Judge and Savior of your soul. I've been to Greg Laurie's church, read his books, been to his Harvest crusades, and he always shares the true gospel - so why was it absent here?

I don't know. I just wish it was present, because so many people may watch this movie. Sure this will point people to Jesus and encourage people to seek the truth, but they won't have clear gospel presentation that can save their soul.