The Second Chance (2006)
Runtime: 1 hr 53 mins
Genre: Dramas
Starring: Michael W. Smith, J. Don Ferguson, Jeff Obafemi Carr, Jonathan Thomas
Screenwriter: Chip Arnold, Ben Pearson, Steve Taylor
Producer: Coke Sams, Steve Taylor, J. Clarke Gallivan
Composer: Michael W. Smith
DVD Info
Release:
Feb 12, 2008
DVD Features:
- Anamorphic Widescreen - 1.85
Audio:
- Dolby Digital 5.1 - English
- Subtitles - English, French - Optional
- Subtitles - English - Closed Captioned
Buy It On DVD
Reviews
A modern morality play whose positive messages are undercut by its pandering, paternalistic tone.
This may be a church movie, but it's one of the better ones.
As divided as the two very different churches at its center, The Second Chance reps an uneasy marriage of spiritual conviction and dramatic expedience.
There are a lot of good messages in The Second Chance about how Christianity is a mix of love, both gentle and tough.
It is earnest, cliched, often awkward and unlikely to inspire anyone who isn't already thoroughly sold on its message of salvation through community activism.
[The film is] designed to launch Christian pop singer Michael W. Smith as a movie brand name. It doesn't really succeed at that, but it does manage to send a positive message in a pretty polished movie, a message aimed at regular church-goers.
[The film is] sabotaged by hackneyed dialogue, sluggish pacing and a listless performance by Smith, who only springs to life when he's singing.
A movie-of-the-week treatment of race and class, the film credibly portrays the day-to-day workings of an urban ministry.
It's not the message that bothered me but the obvious way in which it's delivered.
Second Chance delivers its parable of spiritual growth with enough tender nuance that it doesn't merely preach to the choir.
... a sincerely (if not exactly subtly) performed spiritual drama with a faith-based lesson in humility and the practical charity of offering a helping hand.
Startlingly direct, if unavoidably preachy, The Second Chance takes aim at Christianity's racial divide and the corporatization of faith.
Sure, there are lots of positive messages about following your calling and seeing how others live, but that message would better resonate with the audience if the story wasn't so bland.
Related Forums
by: bornwithabook 12/9/05


Top Critic