The Apocalypse

Richard Harris's moving performance is the centerpiece of this film, in which members of the early church, struggling for faith and reassurance in the face of violent persecution, are searching for John the Beloved, last of the living apostles, who is "hiding in plain sight" on the prison island of Patmos. However, don't ignore some very good performances by several of the others. The visions of John are depicted judiciously, considering the CGI available in 2000 and the budget (that is, they don't scream "made-for-TV"); the montages do not try to show every detail but give a general idea of the visions. To watch this is a good adjunct to reading Revelation, to remind one that these fantastic visions came to a real person in a very chaotic time.

I was blown away when I happened upon this film while channel surfing on TV. Richard Harris is tremendous. The story captured my attention immediately.

The biblical and historical underpinning of this account seems as solid as a rock. The account of what happened to John on Patmos is engrossing and whether based wholly on historical research or or embellished by the author's imagination, I believe it is close to what actually occurred. I highly recommend this film to all believers. I hope to find it on DVD.

I also found the other actors in this film to be outstanding, especially the actress playing Irene and the actor playing Valerius.

Apocalypse is inspiring. Don't miss it.

I will only write about one thing, since others have covered the excellent Richard Harris' performance: This was the first time we got a small idea of Revelation, thanks to good computerized special effects. I say a small idea, because the actual book of Revelation in the Bible contains what must be the ultimate in fantastically spectacular scenes-and a multitude of them at that. It is strange that no big production has ever attempted it. From all the existing films with titles referring to Apocalypse or Revelation, this is the best one by far. The others are no different than low budget-low interest movies, which don't even begin to reach the magnitude and magnificence of the book of Revelation.

While banished to the island of Patmos, "St. John" (played by Richard Harris) receives visions from the Lord which results in his writing the "Book of Revelation". However, this is not a movie about "the Apocalypse". Rather, this film is more about his life on Patmos and his visions than anything else. I say this for several reasons. First, the event called "the Apocalypse" isn't constrained to just the "Book of Revelation". The fact is that much of what we know about this subject also comes from the "Book of Daniel" and the "Gospel of Matthew" along with various passages from other books in the Bible as well. Because of this, there were many passages about the Apocalypse which were left out of the film. Along with that, those passages that were included weren't explained well at all. Further, like so many other Biblical movies, there are some non-Biblical elements thrown in for dramatic effect. In this particular case it involves a beautiful Christian woman named "Irene" (Vittoria Belvedere) and a Roman spy by the name of "Valerius" (Benjamin Sadler). So basically, if you're looking for a film about the Apocalypse then it might be better to look elsewhere. However, thanks to a very fine performance by Richard Harris, this movie is still somewhat enjoyable all the same and can safely be recommended to anybody of any faith. That said, I rate it as slightly above average.

Evocative rendition of John's visions that doesn't shove a particular interpretation down your throat ala "Left Behind." More likely to provoke worship than to scratch your theological itches. Which is why I liked it.