Jerusalem Countdown (2011) User Reviews

Hogwash! Stay clear!

[xlars · 4/10 · 24 June 2012]

Sorry to say, but this film is a sad, sad, sad production.

First, there are so many holes in the dramatization that it can hardly be counted as following any dramaturgical rules. Not having read John Hagee's book though, it is hard to say whether the film has raped the book or whether the book is equally bad.

Furthermore, the underlying theological understanding of several prophetic issues are so far of the mark - that anyone considering themselves as a born-again believer should stay clear of it, and even more, should not under any circumstances recommend the film (especially not to unbelievers)or buy it as a gift for anyone.

It is my sincere belief that this film will do more damage than it will do good. Stay clear!

Religion and spying

[BandSAboutMovies · 3/10 · 22 April 2021]

God bless Christians and their end of the world movies.

Seven backpack nukes, code named The Seven Wonders, have been placed in the U. S. by terrorists as the result of the battle for Jerusalem. FBI Agent Shane Daughtry (David A. R. White, the co-founder of Pure Flix Entertainment, as well as the co-writer and producer of this movie) and agent Eve Rearden (Anna Zielinski) must find these weapons before they destroy the world. Or at least America.

Where does Lee Majors fit in? Well, he's Arlin Rockwell, the arms dealer who smuggled the weapons into the coutry. There's also a Russian-Iranian terror cell called The Revolution of God, Stacy Keach as a retired G-Man and Randy Travis, of all people, as the Deputy Director of the CIA. Ironically, there are two different songs in this movie and neither are sung by Travis.

So yeah. A Christian spy epic that I only sat through because I love Lee Majors. I really will watch anything.

It doesn't manage to sell the premise

[Nozz · 5/10 · 6 July 2012]

I'm not a Christian but I'm willing to suspend disbelief for the sake of a good script. Show me Jesus turning water into wine or raising the dead, and if it's presented well and is well-intentioned, I'll buy it the way I'll buy a trip into the future or a haunted house. And I wanted to like this movie because I do believe in defending the world against those who believe that the worse it gets for ordinary people, the better it is for the cause of some self-righteous violent anti- Western revolution. But the conviction with which the characters-- and even the government-- are shown to accept Biblical prophecies, and not just the prophecies themselves but a particular leap of interpretation regarding the prophecies, doesn't get sold here. It's just stated. The action sequences are fine, but a little time should have been sacrificed for some explanation of a convincing, reasonably detailed parallel between prophecy and reality, and if that parallel doesn't exist in the real world (as I think it doesn't), then reality could have been fictionalized a little. Maybe the problem is that the movie didn't want to obviously fictionalize because it didn't want to look as if the point of view it promotes is based on a fiction.

Wow... this actually got made?

[suicidea · 2/10 · 17 October 2011]

It's rather difficult to write a review for this kind of film. One is instantly inclined to use words like: childish, superficial, racist, moronic, pointless... but none of them come close.

Recent events in our times are bound to produce stuff like this. Among the many documentaries, news footage and commercial films, some are bound to play the "America: the guardians of world peace" card. But I never expected to see such a shoddily done film.

Without giving away much, I'll try to explain the plot. There are the good guys, i.e. Americans, looking neat and handsome, ready to do everything for peace on Earth. There is the Israel prime minister, although who is only seen on TV news, who gives tearjerker speeches about world peace. And there is everyone else, who are all ugly, growling, mumbling foreigners, who want to change the world order, do bad things, because they are ugly and evil and cannot stand nice, peace-loving Americans do good deeds.

I'm not saying these with any anti-American sentiments, mind you. This is actually what the film is about. It's appalling that some people approved this script and spent money for its production. It doesn't work even on a racist, "America is good, everyone else is bad" frame of mind. Your average 10-year old would approach the topic on a more intellectual level.

I realize that even the worst films require planning, time, effort and money, so I don't want to bash it all, but... who ever is responsible for this film? Responsible for the "suspect who mumbles prayers and snickers knowingly in the interrogation room" scene, done only in one million other bad movies, for instance? Or why do the foreigners write Arabic words in huge letters on the walls of the house they rent, when they are hiding dangerous stuff there? So that the neighbors would see from the windows? Oh well, I guess Arabic = evil in the childish minds of the people who approved and made this film.

I intentionally used the word "foreigner" instead of Arab or terrorist, for we really don't know who they are (although we suspect they are from Iran or Russia). One of them looks Chinese or from some Far-East country, the other looks like an Arab but could very well be Indian... doesn't really matter, for they are not American, and they are not even white. So they are evil.

I was also sorry to see a talented actor like Stacy Keach in this piece of wasted film material. Being a non-American, foreigner, evil, euro-trash, baby-eating, peace-hater myself, I haven't had the chance to see his works on theater, but I know he is vastly talented as an actor. He has been in his share of bad films, like The Class of 1999, but that was enjoyable bad. This one is just plain bad.

One of the worst

[agathic · 1/10 · 19 February 2012]

One of the worst movies I have ever seen.

The performances are less than average, more like novices, the plot is Full of holes that is laughable to say the least, the story is your Typical one of how is Israel and the US are the only two good guys and The rest of the world are BAD. Need I say more!!

Here we have some Iranians smuggling seven N bombs made in Russia who developed these kind of suitcase nuclear bombs, and gave them to the bad Iranians to kill and destroy America, so Israel is left without the only defender, but the single American agent with the help of another agent whose father is an Israeli VIP managed to defeat the plot, with the unintended help of a man who does not believe in God whose wife was urging him to believe in the holly book and all the predictions that are included in it. You get the picture

Preaching to the Choir

[kingdom-krud · 1/10 · 17 February 2012]

Beware potential viewers, this movie has TWO major negatives that make it a doubly awful flick:

1) It's script and plot are 2 steps BELOW made-for-TV. 2) It's clearly created by a pro-Christian organization to proselytize.

Problem is, even if you are a bible believing fundamentalist Christian, the movie is still awful. The script is unbelievable, but even worse is the long pauses between statements, when actors talking to one another. Why do they do that? Don't you know that to make it believable - ya gotta talk normal actor folks! Please don't waste 80 minutes on this.

My rating 1/10.

Facile

[anthony_retford · 2/10 · 12 April 2012]

This movie was obviously made by some Christian group, otherwise why would Randy Travis be in it?

Seriously though I found the conversations which often were about religion very facile. An example was when the man and woman were in the kitchen talking about religion and she asks him if he believes there was even a person called Jesus. He tosses his hands around and says "Of course I do." And then gives as the reason he believes this as millions of people celebrate Christmas. But it is clear they have been having this discussion for years and that was the best he could think of? A reasonable response to that question was "No." Then the reason could be given that there is no evidence at all for such a person, and that no contemporary writers who wrote anything whatsoever about such a person have been found. We know that many other people existed because they were written about but not a man who supposedly fed thousands, walked upon water, raised the dead, and many other things.

For my money acceptance was too easy in this movie of the mass delusion called religion, be it Christianity or Moslem-based.

Unbelievably Awful

[solitary_mariner · 1/10 · 29 May 2012]

It's really hard to be objective here with a review. Basically what we have got here is right wing Christian propaganda with political overtones marauding as an action/thriller movie.

Throw in some of the worst acting imaginable, a script that is, well, what script? there is none. Add in no continuity and a director that didn't direct and you have the most painful 80 minutes of "entertainment" imaginable.

Now being brutally honest, don't bother with this one if you value your sanity because i was ready to tear my hair out after 30 minutes but had to persevere because i had no choice ( watch or make your dinner was the ultimatum)

I go by the gold standard, if it looks like a dog, barks like a dog and smells like a dog. Well, it's a dog.

Even awful can not describe how horribly this movie sucked

[denismwarania · 1/10 · 20 February 2012]

A very pro-Christian flick. Bad acting, no storyline, no sequence of events, stock characters that do not fit in to the story. I could go on forever with the things that sucked about this movie forever. I could not stand watching it beyond 30 grueling minutes.

The makers of this movies might have had all the best of fundamentalist Christian intentions, but the baseline of the story seemed like mud- slinging at the Arabs nations. At one point it felt like was back to being a Christian seated in a church being told how the Islam is our problem.

Please do not watch this movie if you value your creativity or even mere common sense. These characters should not set a foot in front of a camera again.

Worst movie ever!

[choosefirst · 1/10 · 6 August 2012]

I can't remember the last time I've seen such a poorly executed movie. I'm glad I rented it with my free Redbox promo code because I wouldn't want to waste $1 on this movie. I don't know what was worse, the predictable plot or the feel-good religious references. Either way the scenes seemed to drag on forever and the acting was horrid and drawn out as well. The actors were trying to pump emotion into scenes that which made it seem fake. Regardless, it's a far cry from movies like Die Hard or Armageddon. I wouldn't classify this as an action or a suspenseful thriller, because there was no action, suspense or thrill. Just simply a commercial for religion,in my opinion. A bad one.

Interesting and entertaining

[jvhoplutsk · 8/10 · 25 February 2012]

I liked the movie,it was fun to see. It was creative and should make you think. I thought it was intense and the plot was not obvious. I have seen it now two times. It does not deserve a low rating as some gave! Some people can be insulted politically, but guys its just a movie. I liked the variety of actors and the acting was good and some times very good. My wife had some very stressful moments because of the reality in the scenes. It was nice to see a film that was clean, decent language and no sex! This is a fresh change and long needed. I would recommend this movie for anyone, but not for children, too violent. I would like see the sequel, it would be very cool. I will buy this film when I can.

Very good for a small production.

[robokray · 7/10 · 14 June 2012]

Considering the fact that this film was probably shot on small budget and made by folks outside the mainstream of Hollywood studios, I think they did a good job. I expect the poor ratings are sour grapes at the religious overtones, which should have been anticipated given the premise of the film. I have paid much more to see big budget films at the theater that failed to meet even a modicum of entertainment value. Thankfully technology has advanced to the point that small efforts like this one can have a professional production quality rivaling that of the large studios and their ridiculous budgets. Film making is no longer the exclusive domain of the well financed. This film is worth the price of admission if only to stick it to the big guys who are rapidly losing their creative edge.

A Christian's thoughts

[Eyesandwings · 1/10 · 29 August 2012]

The review tweet version: "Jerusalem Countdown" review: A movie about what happens to eschatology when it's based on half-truths mixed with xenophobia & bad acting.

The longer story: Being a guy who enjoys film a lot, I didn't have too many problems with the filmography. It's way better than any other Christian movies and comes quite close to non-creative mid-budget secular films.

The acting and script however were worse. Terrible.

But all of these things are barely noticed when compared to the hatred, stereotyping, and xenophobia against Arabs that this film not only shows, but pushes. The film seems to preach (never a good quality of any film) that if your neighbors are Arabs, they must be Muslim extremists who have guns and nukes in their basement and it is your job as a good American to break into their house to see if this is true.

Theology-wise, it's terrible, but I attribute that to the source material (Hagee's book).

I personally think that if the xenophobic dialogue/plots and the pre-tribulation rapture scenes were taken out, then it *might* of been a semi-decent film…especially for being a "Christian" film.

Forever In Blue Jeans

[Theo Robertson · 4/10 · 28 April 2015]

In its favour this film does open with a hook . A man stand in the middle of the street , sirens are blaring over the soundtrack and emergency vehicles are crashing in to each other and a helicopter crashes . Worst of all clothes fall from the sky , yes clothes including a cheap pair of denim jeans and it's not everyday a clothes are used as iconography for impending disaster . I can guarantee this is the greatest film I have ever seen where the stunt crew involves a pair of Wranglers . Now that's not to say JC ( Oh check those initials) is a great film because it's not . It is however a completely deranged one made for religious maniacs involving religious maniacs and because of this it gives a secular audience much entertainment though one suspects this wasn't the aim of the producers

The plot is low grade Tom Clancy type thriller where a bunch of terrorists sneak in to America with some nuclear missiles and it's up to some Bible basher feds to stop them . Okay you've seen it all before and this might have rendered the movie a little bit mundane , but remember this is not a mundane film featuring generic villains - this is a film where Matalan clothes racks are providing the stunts . As it transpires the bad guys are a combination of Iranians and Russians who want to destroy America and Israel . Make no mistake here - I'm not saying it's Iranian and Russian terrorists who are behind it but the Iranian and Russian governments . Considering a lot of Chechens can testify that the Russian government isn't exactly pro-Muslim why would the Russians and Iranians be in cahoots with one another ? It also ignores the fact that as many as one million Israelis were born in Russia or are first generation Russians though to be fair Israel has been a friend for people wanting to escape Russia rather than a friend of Russia itself so I guess we can ignore this plot turn . What is more difficult to ignore is the factual errors such as the Israeli premier stating "Israel gave up land for peace during the Reagan administration" Hmmm If he's referring to Israel giving the Sinai Peninsula back to Egypt then this took place in 1979 when Begin and his Likud party was in power and Carter was US president but I guess there isn't too many Democrat party members working on this movie and leads me to wonder how much else is factually wrong ? But it's not really a film where you're supposed to think for yourself but anything film that has a pair of jeans steal every scene it's in can't be all bad . Can it ?

Review on reviewers; not film

[Roadkill1962 · 8/10 · 8 September 2012]

Briefly, I will say that the film was much better than most of the reviewers posted on this site. As far as comparison to most Hollywood produced films, I would agree that it deserves a lower rating. Possibly a 5 out of 10. The problem is that this is a movie directed toward Christians and those that have an interest in Christian based movies. The people that are aggravated by Christianity unfairly critique these movies because they are bitter toward believers. I would give the movie 8 out of 10 because it based on comparison to other Christian movies.

I would recommend that if someone hates Christians and Christianity, ignore these films. Don't rent it out or watch it if it offends you.

Again, this is a critique toward those critics that are obviously biased against faith based movies (fiction or non fiction).

Not as bad as some reviewers want us to believe.

[daumas · 6/10 · 9 July 2012]

I saw much more worst movies than this.

I think the main issue here is that people don't like the movie because it is a Christian movie. If it wasn't, the reviews would be better. In another words, people has a prejudice against Christian movies.

Now, the movie itself:

First things first: David White should leave the acting to other actors. He's good as director, not as an actor. But the acting in the general is good.

The plot is interesting, captivating, and, contrary to other opinions written here, I don't think that push so much the Americans as the good guys against the "bad guys". Any Chuck Norris or Steven Seagal movies is more pushing that this one.

I will recommend this movie to my friends and other people as well.

Jerusalm Countdown Review

[timmyklee · 8/10 · 11 April 2012]

If you like action and suspense mixed in with biblical truth and prophecy than this film is for you! Pure Flix delvers another thought provoking story with more action, twists and turns and the unexpected than ever! With a stellar cast featuring Lee Majors (Prison Break.), Randy Travis, (Country Artist), David White, (Mercy Streets) Jackie Vastiqize (Contemporaneity Artist) and many more. this film will make you rethink your view on prophecy as well as keeping you on the edge of your set till the very end! If your inserted go to your local retail to pick up a copy before they run out!For more films like this please visit www.pure flix.com.

Not too bad

[chillchristian · 7/10 · 12 October 2012]

First of all and not too sound extremely obvious this is a Christian FILM. It seems most people are missing the point, despite being a low budget film, this movie held up pretty good. I mean i do agree the plot was misleading at times and as far as the acting i think it was just OK overall, however it thought the meaning of salvation thru Jesus and the events of the Rapture and end of time as mention in the Bible... This is the MAIN MESSAGE of the movie. THE IMPORTANCE OF BEING REDEEMED AND SAVED IN THE END TIMES. Nations will fight nations is just the way it is, don't ignore the main message of the film. Today is the day of salvation.

A great prophetic film

[atdmv · 9/10 · 18 January 2013]

I have seen numerous faith-based movies, and this one is the best of them all. When I choose to watch a Christian film, I don't look for astronomically expensive special effects or any other Hollywood "eye candy", for that matter. Christian movies are intended to vocalize and visualize the Christian beliefs, particularly the beliefs of the movie creators. And THAT is accomplished very well in this film. The non-denominational, essential and universally accepted Christian beliefs are brought up in this movie. In addition, the film delves into the End Times prophesies; and this is where Christians differ from one another. Nevertheless, there is no requirement for anyone to agree with the authors — viewers simply get a chance to see a version of what the movie creators believe will happen. I think, it's great and wonderful to see the pages of the Bible come to life on the screen (or one interpretation of it). This movie has a target audience, and it meets the audience's expectations extremely well. The film did not have a massive budget for its making, so the viewer should accept it for what it is: a visual presentation of the fulfillment of the End Times prophecies (one interpretation). It is meant to tell people the Christian view of Salvation (the way to receive it) and to interpret parts of the Book of Revelation. And I believe, this film has fulfilled its purpose completely. It is even inspirational. In my opinion, most Christians, or anyone seeking God, will enjoy it. And don't read between the lines — the movie is pretty straight forward.

Better than expected B movie fare

[beeblebrox-2 · 7/10 · 8 September 2014]

MINOR SPOILER

I would put this at the quality level of your average SyFy channel flick. I give it an extra star for exceeding expectations despite a low budget.

This has been criticized for being pro-Christian propaganda - probably by people who think that Fahrenheit 911 and Syriana were objective. 98 out of 100 Hollywood films are overtly anti-conservative or secularist so it doesn't surprise me that reviewers who down vote this film have already been so indoctrinated that they can't appreciate a viewpoint film that explains the Gospel or prophesy. It's so rare to see a movie with a completely unusual premise like this, that some viewers recoil at the notion of a message movie of this kind.

I found this film to be a refreshing effort to dramatize the struggle that many non-Bible believers have in accepting Scripture. In this respect, non-Christian "seekers" may find this story hits close to home.

On a screenplay level, this is average thriller/spy fare, if a bit contrived but gets the point across without being ham-fisted. The prophetic aspects could have been explored better given that the Old Testament is pretty clear that there will be a major war against Israel in the near future (that it will win) as outlined by Isaiah in Chapter 53 - something that goes unmentioned in the script.

Meanwhile, the Ezekiel prophesy that IS mentioned in the movie is about an event that comes after the Isaiah 53 war. But this was not intended to be a lesson in End Times Bible doctrine, but rather, a think piece for those who may be noticing that world events are aligning with predictions in the Bible.

As for the terrorist angle. Who doubts that ISIS and the Muslim Brotherhood would destroy the US and Israel if it could? So I have no issue with that story element at all.

Who cares if it has religious overtones? What is Twilight then?

[ciscoprog · 10/10 · 13 April 2012]

Haven't seen it yet but it looks like a good one. Its got action, suspense, looks well done and interesting. Who cares if it has religious points of view? If one can watch Twilight than certainly this one should be no problem. It's a movie. If it makes you think about where you are in life, than so be it. I know where I will be. Watching the movie! Love these types of movies. I think we should have more movies with "biblical" overtones. There is not going to be a movie that has any biblical plots that will fit everyone's point of view. Who cares? Just see the movie. And then if your ears are tickled, go search the scriptures yourself.

24 For Christians

[jeremiah_dansereau · 6/10 · 24 March 2021]

In 2001 FOX released a TV Show entitled 24; the show was about a counter terrorism agent who spent the series trying to stop assassinations, nuclear attacks and the like. Apparently David A.R. White saw the show and said to himself, "We could do that." thus- Jerusalem Countdown was born. Loosely based on the book by John Hagee, Jerusalem Countdown is about a FBI agent who is trying to stop a nuclear attack from happening. For the most part Jerusalem Countdown is pretty good, Just having enough action and suspense to keep the audience entertained. However.. The one fatal Flaw is the ending. The Part with the Rapture was completely pointless(especially considering that they didn't make any sequels) Overall, Jerusalem Countdown is a decent Christian action movie. Not as good as Left Behind, but a lot better than Beckman

Kennite Reviewers Abound

[mr-mclemore · 8/10 · 2 August 2012]

Pretty good action film. My only problem is at the end a lot of people just vanish from earth, and their clothes are left here. There is no such word as "Rapture" in the Bible. It came from a dream in 1832 from an 18 year female mental patient in Scotland who had a dream, and didn't even believe it herself. Two preachers heard about it and started the whole fly away theory. Most churches around me teach it now. As it says in the Bible, the traditions of man make void the word of God. In the King James Version, in Ezekiel chapter 13, God makes it clear not to teach the fly away doctrine. If you have a NIV bible, it says birds fly away. Kennites, or sons of Cain, got their hands in it. we have to be here to stand up before the other Christ, who claims that he is the annointed one, If we all flew away, who yould stand up against him, letting God's Spirit speak through us, so that even the naysayers might be amazed. Wrong teaching like the Left Behind films, but can make you think about the reality there was and is a real Jesus Christ, and he did come here to die for us, and if we believe in him we can have eternal life. God bless us all, it is a hard row to plow.

Jerusalem Countdown heads up!!

[skystars-70216 · 7/10 · 4 February 2017]

Being a fan of David A.R. White, I bought this film and looked forward to watching it. I was NOT disappointed! I really do not understand anyone who would criticize this intense, action packed film with a solid cast they either don't like religious based films or just have no imagination. This is a great movie well done by a great group of actors and another winner for David A.R. White! It's great also because it parallels what is going on in today's world,very realistic and scary about what COULD happen if ever a foreign power brought in a atomic bomb to destroy one or more of our cities. Gave me nightmares and I pray nothing like this could ever happen for real!Everyone who cares about this country should see this film and NEVER take this great country for granted!! Those who wrote negative reviews of this movie just don't Get it!!! Maybe they need to watch it three or four times until the film's message really sinks into their brain! Great film!!! Check it out soon!!!! ZD

Not Hollywood!

[abbysgrandma · 8/10 · 29 September 2019]

For those giving low ratings, this is NOT a Hollywood movie. So, if you are watching it for blood, sex, violence, political gain, you won't find it. This is a CHRISTIAN film, made by Christians starring Christians. If you are not a believer and Hollywood is what you are looking for you will be disappointed. I personally like the movie and have watched it several times. Yes, these actors are not big stars but if it reaches even one person than it is worth it.