Revelation Road: The Black Rider

Two years have passed since "Josh McManus" (David A. R. White) has lost his wife and child to the event known in some Christian circles as "the rapture." In those two years all government activities around the world have essentially given way to a mob mentality in which many small towns and urban areas have succumbed to for survival. To that effect, when a companion of his is stabbed Josh drives into one such town where the mayor, "Drake" (James Denton) makes a deal with him to try to help save his companion's life in exchange for his bringing back a doctor that left that same town a while ago to follow a man known as "The Shepherd" (Robert Gossett). Seeing no real ethical problem with this Josh agrees and sets out on his own to find the doctor. At least, he thinks he is traveling on his own. What he also doesn't know is that Drake actually only wants to find the location of "The Shepherd" for his own nefarious purposes and has no real concern for the well-being of his wounded companion--or his promises for that matter. Now rather than reveal any more I will just say that this film didn't seem to have the same effect as its other two predecessors mainly because some of the characters simply weren't that believable. It also doesn't help that the ending opens itself up for a sequel which may not ever be produced. In any case, although not a bad film necessarily, I didn't get nearly as much out of it as the previous two films in this series, and I have rated it accordingly. Slightly below average.

Its really bad,the acting is bad the budget is bad,there is no plot except Christian hidden agenda feeding you reason to become Christian. the locations are seemingly just random normal places,there is no mood no way to tell this is the "apocalypse" its basically regular people walking around in their everyday clothing with some ski goggles or a scarf.

the plot is so bad you don't even care,the characters are less developed then regular commercial. its pretty obvious some church or movement funded this b movie so they don't even care about acting plots or anything.

you start to fiddle with other stuff while watching because your brain is simply refusing to take it in.

b movies can be bad in a good way but this just bad bad.

If you enjoyed the first two Revelation Road films, the third is worth a watch. It's not a perfect movie, but it is a fun ride that explores the aftermath of the Day.

It's B movie fun with solid writing and solid performances all around especially from James Denton.

The only weaknesses are some of the vfx in one scene early on, but it really does get better the deeper in you get. Bradley Dorsey's performance as a redneck opportunist selling human meat as real meat is my favorite of his yet! But don't worry it's not graphic. It's safe for younger viewers 10+.

The action is on par with the first two. Some great brawls keep the pace brisk. It reminds me of the first Mad Max in many scenes.

Overall, if you enjoyed the first two or enjoy post-apocalyptic films this is worth the couple hours.

"Black Rider: Revelation Road" is to the Mad Max series what "Christian Rock" is to Rock and Roll. If you're feeling generous (or desperate) you might say it was better than nothing. On the down side, there is way more religious talk than you're going to want to hear unless you're already an Xtian believer. The plot is repetitive, and ultimately nonsensical, even when the Xtian prophetic angle is taken into account. The soundtrack is bombastic crap that is absolutely awful. On the plus side, there are a few halfway decent fight scenes and some of the actors are competent, if not exactly inspired. David A.R. White, who plays the "Black Rider", can actually talk almost as well as he can kick so that's something I suppose.

Bottom line, this movie is not worth wasting time on. Rating 3/10

The acting sometimes feels rigid, and some of the extent of situations seems unrealistic without additional context. Between the 3 (current) films, there's also a lot of filler with little plot progression. That trend continues in The Black Rider.

In order to keep up with the fight scenes of the first two movies, a lot of needless filler was added, pushing most of the real plot to the second half of the film. The fight scenes also weren't very well-paced and were like long breaks from the plot instead. They could learn a thing or two from Marvel on how to keep things flowing without the awkwardness.

The religious message is prevalent, though at times used with questionable accuracy. As with the first two movies, the Christian message is awkwardly juxtaposed with a protagonist with a penchant for killing. Though I have to give props for at least addressing the issue, it seems to be completely forgotten for the rest of the film.

The main turning point, both as the MacGuffin and in the tone, is the Shepherd. This is the only main character who doesn't seem to be awkwardly juxtaposed with the message of the movie - though he's also far from an action star.

I love ruminating on the book this movie is (loosely) based on as well as movies that attempt to interpret / depict the events. Though not quite cringe-worthy, the movie just doesn't have much going for it due to feeling like a single, stretched-out episode. When the series is complete, an abridged version might be better worth watching.