Passage to Zarahemla (2007) User Reviews

Awful.

[artzau-531-978839 · 2/10 · 1 December 2014]

They ought to put a warning on movies like this: THIS IS FOR BELIEVING MORMONS ONLY!

My wife and I scanning the net for entertainment got sucked into this mish-mash of bad acting and Mormon fiction. We have it all for a maudlin young folks story, the misplaced, unwanted kids with an erstwhile older non-druggie teen age sister and a potential gang- banger little brother who escape the government incompetent and uncaring bureaucracy and gang violence to come to the warm caring bosom of Mormondom with large families, doting parents and a wise grandfather steeped in Mormon mythology. Add some Aztec-like other- world fantasy characters from that great work of Joseph Smith fiction, mix it up and bingo! You got a movie to entertain young Mormons.

Mormons will love it, as indeed, the two true believing reviewers posted here did. Non-Mormons like myself will likely not be able to sit through all the pablum and fantasy passed off as "truth" to the end.

My objection here is not just based on passing off a set of myths and pseudo-history of a large religious corporation with documented cultic origins as fact: we're free to express whatever beliefs we want under our rights and liberties of freedom of religion, speech and social media. My review is based on the bad acting, the doggerel story line and the corny premise used in writing this mongrel of a movie.

Horribly offensive and dull at the same time

[pomowest · 1/10 · 30 August 2018]

We couldn't get through the last 30 minutes of this movie due to how gross it made us feel. This movie contains:

-Highly violent cholos, half of them look white. -White people dressed like native americans with blood covering them, acting violent and like savages. In one scene a grandma on the street laughs at them, causing one of them almost to immediately try to throw a spear at her on kill her. In another scene they rob a store of donuts and use their weapons to pick up the donuts and stuff them in their faces like they have no etiquette. If you've noticed a pattern, the brown characters are all violent in this movie. -wholesome white characters, half of them creepy. The mormon family we get to meet has a mother with crazy eyes, and all the kids sit and stand around staring at the main characters when they first meet on screen.

• dull one dimensional characters. They have boring interactions where half of this movie are these characters sitting around talking. When the main character meets her native american love interest(also white), they spend their first 10 minutes of screen time together talking, her running away semi-dramatically, then talking some more after coming back. No adventure immediately ensues from the exciting time travelling theme, rather we get boring dialogue.

-meandering plot that doesn't go anywhere, then when it does get exciting it's immediately very offensive. When the characters are done talking, all the brown appear on screen and do the only thing they can do in this movie, act extremely violent.

This feels straight out of a 1940 cowboy movie than from 2007.

Not as bad or as good as you've heard...

[linkcrawford · 7/10 · 14 January 2019]

This is a cute movie with a storyline better than I expected. It is intended for teens, no doubt, and certainly is going to appeal to members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints more than the general public.

The movie really isn't overly preachy. It does have religious overtones, and Mormon theology/the Book of Mormon is dealt with explicity, but less in a missionary way and more as a vehicle for the story. If Mormon stuff is going to offend you, then this probably isn't the movie for you.

What makes the movie good are a couple of things...First of all, the sci-fi element. The whole time-travel/portal thing is actually kind of entertaining and kept me hooked on the story. Secondly, the eccentric grandfather. What a likable actor/character! His charisma really comes through and makes the movie fun where some of the other acting is a little too wooden and stiff.

It's low budget, but that's part of its charm. I wouldn't mind watching it again someday, but I understand this kind of thing isn't for everybody.

Slow, boring, and what is the real plot here?

[kbrooks-05490 · 2/10 · 5 November 2020]

This is a religious film. During the movie they state their family is Morman. So one should expect the religious content. Ok, we have people who believe in an entity that doesn't exist. They can't prove it exists. During the movie you find out that the main character as a young girl was bullied and made fun of for hearing and seeing things that the others claim do not exist. Wait a minute. isn't that the same thing as their religious beliefs? How smug of them. Religious people can not be trusted. There are a lot of people while growing up have imagery friends. As a child this is accepted. As you grow older the thought of talking to something that doesn't exist will get you a padded room. Yet, all these christians are running around talking to things and listening to things that don't exist. Why are christians not locked away for their safety? Religion is the root of all EVIL. Christians also blame their life on entities either it be good or bad. Their problems are never their fault. These type of people are the first ones to tell you to take responsibility for your actions. Christians are a bunch of hypocrites.

This movie is surprisingly good!

[druff-7 · 10/10 · 13 November 2007]

This is not your usual LDS fare. The movie might be a little intense for the youngest of viewers. I saw a few young kids turn away and snuggle close to their parents during some of the more intense parts. But they were laughing at other parts and were genuinely entertained.

If you're a Chris Heimerdinger fan, this movie is even more rewarding. It has great special effects, and a fun story. After getting burned out on recent LDS films, it was refreshing to sit down and feel like this was a 'real movie' for a change.

I followed a couple out of the movie theater and overheard the husband say to his wife, "This is the first LDS film that I have liked".

Good job raising the bar Chris.

Non-members HAVE to see it!!! Chris should continue his work.

[jcjudkins · 9/10 · 22 November 2010]

The first time I saw the movie, I hadn't read the book. Just yesterday I saw it once more, but it was just about an entire different movie! I can honestly say, this movie is... just INCREDIBLE, and I ask several non-members just to watch this movie if any Mormon movie! I am a Mormon, and I truly respect my religion. But I do not think this movie should be ranked so harshly. I think it can tell a lot about the Mormon religion, but not make it look contrary to what it truly is.

I personally love being a Mormon, but there are times when I get a little angry with things they do. For the most part, movies they make have kind of poor acting. True, the story line is good in most of the movies, but some...I got to admit, I am disappointed. The acting in this movie wasn't "out of this world" good acting, but I do think they portrayed their characters VERY well, especially the person who played Kiddoni! He did a marvelous job!

(Possible spoilers after this point!) Now, going deeper, I looked at how they portrayed the gangsters and was a little confused. They all were white (as far as I've seen) and their accents seem a little abnormal to the general gangster today, but that I don't think is a large issue. Also, near the end when they surround the house, I think the acting went a little down hill, and there were some unnecessary pauses. And when the gangsters hear the horn on their vehicle sound, they surround it, with guns at the ready, and the man inside knocks over one of them with the door. It's cheesy, but rather humorous how when Hitch looks over and sees his buddies on the ground, one of them tries to pick himself up but falls again. I personally think that's a sign of "I didn't know the camera was rolling" but, it's a good laugh for me every time I watch it.

And the ending... I thought it was very cliffhanging, and frankly sad. The rift in which she only can see Kiddoni but can't feel him, can be a very tear-jerking scene to watch. I love this movie, and I don't think I will get easily bored of it for a long time. I admonish EVERYONE if at all possible to see it. (and by everyone, I mean all religions alike or not alike.) Chris Hymordinger (don't know how to spell his last name) should definitely continue his work as a directer and *smirks* hire me to play Jim Hawkins in his Tennis Shoes movie. =p