Do You Believe? - C-

Mira Sorvino

Rated PG-13, 115 minutes
Wes's Grade: C-

Stale Christian drama "Do You Believe?" won't find any new followers

Dear Lord, as a Christian and an avid moviegoer, my sincere prayer is that Christian filmmakers can eventually make an uplifting film whose Good Message can smoothly flow from a believable story and not hit you over the head with a dozen bricks. In Your Name I Pray, Amen. The main question posed in the stagnant, unoriginal new Christian-themed drama is "Do You Believe?" After you see it, not likely. In spite of a familiar cast and a sincere message it wears on its sleeve, it's also typically heavy-handed, preachy and only serves to show some of the challenges of films like this. When a local pastor (Ted McGinley) is shaken to the core by the visible faith of an old street-corner preacher (Delroy Lindo), he is reminded that true belief always requires action. His response ignites a faith-fueled journey that powerfully impacts everyone it touches in ways that only God could orchestrate. Brought to you by Pure Flix Entertainment, who brought last year's big hit "God's Not Dead," the dramatically hollow, third-rate "Do You Believe?," much like other films in this genre, appeals to and will mostly be seen by its core audience of evangelicals, some who think that Kirk Cameron is a good actor. One thing that "Do You Believe?" has done this time, and perhaps inspired by "God's Not Dead," is that it actually has some familiar and respected (if not washed-up) faces, including Oscar-winner Mira Sorvino, Lee Majors, McGinley, Lindo (he is the most memorable as the street preacher trying to make a real difference), Cybill Shepherd, Sean Astin and even former football player Brian Bosworth, all of whom may get slightly more notice if this is as big a hit as "God's Not Dead" was, which may not be likely this time. The overused "Crash"-like intersecting story lines lack edge and believability, and Christian filmmakers have yet to find a way to smoothly integrate the Good News and let it flow from its story, instead of the other way around (any way you try to spin it, someone wandering into a church - during a service - after a robbery just seems contrived). I'm certainly not one to shoot the messenger and the movie "Do You Believe?" has its heart is in the right place, but like this genre in general, it seems to defeat the purpose of spreading the Good News when you primarily attract the people who already believe. Anyway, if you're so inclined to see "Do You Believe?" then go for it, but for a movie about the inspirational, it sure does lack inspiration (and a good script) and only preaches to the choir.