Tribulation

There is nothing I enjoy more in a film than watching a good actor at work. I saw this movie years ago and recently watched it again and the same thing impresses me-- Gary Busey's performance as Tom Canboro. There is one line he says, with a gun in his face: "If you came to change my mind, you're too late" and he smiles in this amazing way. If you like character-driven stories (rather than pretty faces and special effects) you will enjoy this film.

Teens I watched the film with really responded to Nick Mancuso as the Antichrist, found him very creepy! It's good casting all around, actually; yet the message is not overshadowed by star-power (kudos to Busey for that).

This is a Christian film with a Christian message, delivered without a heavy hand; and the main character's spiritual process is 100% believable.

This is the third film in a series following the movies "Apocalypse" and "Revelation". It essentially starts off prior to the first movie ("Apocalypse") with "the Rapture" yet to occur and involves a family arguing over religious ideology. "Tom Canboro" (Gary Busey) is a police detective who doesn't believe in God. His sister "Eileen Canboro" (Margot Kidder) is a devout Christian who tries to convince him and the other members of the family to open their hearts and minds and listen to the gospel. None of them want anything to do with it. Then one night Tom is seriously injured in a car accident and goes into a lengthy coma. When he awakens the Christians have vanished and people everywhere are being forced to accept the "Mark of the Beast" or face death. It's at this point that the movie follows the second film "Revelation" with "Helen Hannah" (Leigh Lewis) leading a small group of Christians trying to disseminate the truth of the gospel and counter the lies of the anti-Christ, "Franco Macalousso" (Nick Mancuso). With her is Tom's wife, "Suzie Canboro" (Sherry Miller) who has no idea that Tom has awakened from his coma. At any rate, rather than disclose the rest of the story and possibly ruin the film for those who haven't seen it, I will just say that this is one of the better "Christian Apocalypse" movies out there. Frankly, I think it would be better for most viewers to watch the first two films beforehand to understand some of the things that have gone on prior to this one. For example, this movie features an event called "the Day of Wonders" which was first presented in "Revelation" and might cause some confusion to viewers who don't understand the significance of it. That said I should also mention that there is some science-fiction added along with some mysticism which adds to the entertainment value but might diminish the scriptural meaning for some viewers. Be that as it may, this movie has good acting and is well-directed and I recommend it for those who might enjoy a film of this type. Above average.

ugh. It just gets worse. Perhaps the positive reviews here are by the Lalonde Brothers themselves. I don't know. BUT they can't be serious objective reviews. Bad acting. Badder writing. Baddest direction. God is worthy of better than this trype. How long must we wait for a good Christian-themed film? Everything I've seen is bad or after-schoolish. We are capable of better than what the "world" produces, no? PLEASE!! STOP THE WASTE OF TIME AND MONEY!

The lord works in mysterious ways. Such cannot be denied when one considers his latest work, "Tribulation".

Why, oh Lord, doest thou have Margot Kidder, she who was found drunk on the side of a Los Angeles highway eating her own hair, preach thy good works? Why, oh lord, hath thou chosen Gary Busey, whose coked-up corpulance once protested motorcycle helmets. Whast Christopher Walken unavailable?

And, why, oh why my Lord, have you charged Howie Mandel with this task? He, who once drove my pure heart to murderous thoughts with his works?

Oh, Lord... thank goodness that you speak so vividly through Cloud 10 Pictures. It would shatter my faith completely if this company was just a bunch of opportunistic hacks who were seeking to profit off of the growing Christian demographic of the midwest.

Before the review, a brief plot summary: Tom Canboro is a police detective with a prankish younger brother named Calvin and a Christian older sister, Eileen. He is happily married to Suzie Quincy, sister to a strongly eccentric man named Jason Quincy, who has read Franco Macalousso's book "Babel Becomes One" and believes that, if the world is united, whatever we believe we can achieve. However, one night when Tom answers a domestic violence call, Jason and Professor Tim Tucker both attack a Christian calling them a "Hater" then both dive out the window, possesed by demons. When Tom learns of this, a mysterious force takes control of his car, smashes it into a truck, and sends him into a coma. When he awakens years later, he finds that 95% of the world wears the mark of 666 on their right hand, Macalousso now rules the earth, millions of people (including Eileen) have simply vanished without a trace and everyone with the mark can't remember theu ever existed, and his wife is a member of Christians know now as Haters being hunted down by the police force called ONE.

Well, as you can see the plot is rather complex. Sequel to "Apocalypse" and "Revelation", it again features Leigh Lewis as Hater Leader Helen Hannah, Patrick Gallangher as Jake Goss, and Marium Carvell as Selma Davis. Sherry Miller plays Suzie Canboro, and Howie Mandel appears as Jason Quincy. Margot Kidder, famous for playing Lois Lane in the Superman movies, plays Eileen Canboro, while Joseph Ziegler stars as Calvin Canboro. Rothaford Gray has a cameo, again playing Ronny Spalding, the Hater spy who infiltrated One Nation Earth in "Revelation". Nick Mancuso again acts as Franco Macalousso. And the sinister Lawrence Bayne, who has appeared on "La Femme Nikita", "Honey, I Shrunk the Kids" and "The Famous Jett Jackson", plays the evil false prophet Zack Probert, who hunts Tom down throughout the movie.

This film may be a sequel, but all the films made by Peter and Paul Lalonde really aren't connected. Yes, they have the same characters and each film takes place some months after the last one, but they are really a collection of theories of what the rise of AntiChrist may be like. In this, Franco Macalousso shows to the world that he is Lucifer, who discovered that everyone has the power of God, which is why he was thrown out of Heaven. So, a night is upcoming where the world will join together mentally to battle God.

The film potrays intense suspense, as Tom narrowly avoids being arrested by Probert and his agents while struggling to find the truth. The scene with Macalousso and Helen in the Day of Wonders is spine chilling and so good, it deserves to be ripped off (because good films are always ripped off by lesser films).

However, there is one thing not to be taken seriously, because if it is, it could give a wrong impression. The Tower of Babel is used by AntiChrist as an example of how mankind can come together, Genisis 11:6, mainly. While he could, it is not what the Tribulation period will revolve around. Athiests may believe this as being the truth.

With that in mind, this film is highly recomended.