The Power of God, In Unlikely Hands...

Rating: 6/10 (28 August 2008)

What would you do if you felt that everything in life was against you? That no matter what you did, it was never good enough for anyone or anything. Would you persevere? Just plain give up on trying? Or would you lash out at God, after all when it seems the entire universe is against you, only one being could even possibly help you out of that kind of trouble. If you chose the option of lashing out at God, which under some circumstances isn't necessarily a bad thing, as long as it's done in proper context and with respect for God. By lashing out at God do you think that would solve your problems? Do you think that God would snap his fingers and make your problems simply disappear or that maybe God would sort of take a vacation and give you His powers for a while to see if you could do His job better? If you thought the answer about God giving you His powers was correct, then clearly you haven't been reading your Bible all that closely, but you have probably been watching or at least heard of the movie starring Jim Carrey and Morgan Freeman, "Bruce Almighty". "Bruce Almighty" is the story of a down-trodden news reporter, Bruce Nolan (Jim Carrey), who believes that the entire world, nay the universe, is against him in all that he does. Bruce's girlfriend (Jennifer Aniston), tries to assure him that one of these days things will begin to turn around for him, but Bruce doesn't believe this to be true. So after lashing out at God in anger, accusing Him of not doing His job properly, Bruce is given a life-changing opportunity. A personal visit with God (Morgan Freeman), leaves Bruce endowed with all of God's powers, and God challenges Bruce to see if he can do a better job than the Almighty God can. Truly one of Jim Carrey's most hilarious performances since "Liar, Liar" or "Dumb and Dumber", this over-the-top, laugh until you hurt comedy will leave you wanting to go back to watch it time and time again. "Bruce Almighty" may come off as blasphemous to some, though I'm a Christian and I found it to not be blasphemous, but that's my opinion and not everyone agrees with me. Though this movie is truly hilarious, there are some deep issues regarding faith, and man's relationship with God that get explored here. Even though I don't believe this movie was written by a devout Christian, it still manages to deal with issues of free will, the corruption of absolute power, surrendering to God's will, and God's love for mankind, in very real and engaging ways that can be taken to heart by any Christian. I truly believe that Christians should watch this movie, but bear in mind that there are moments that may be offensive to some, and times that tread on borderline blasphemous, but in the end this film steers clear of that territory, and comes out on top. I did say that I feel that Christians should watch this movie, but actually anyone who is looking for a movie that will have them laughing constantly should watch "Bruce Almighty". I guarantee you will enjoy it.