The Encounter: Paradise Lost (2012) User Reviews

I was disappointed with this sequel - but loved the original

[mike-ryan455 · 5/10 · 15 July 2013]

I can't say it was a bad movie. I just can't say it was an original or good movie. I think that's what disappoints me with it.

The original Encounter was like a parable. I didn't take it literally, and the simple staging worked well with the metaphorical presentation that made you think about you and your personal relationship with your savior. This one drowns in scenery and detail. We have the Boxing Day typhoon in Thailand as history. We have a whole background story of action from a mafia movie, the drug dealer, the cop, etc. We have the lush and lovely background of Phukett, Thailand and those beautiful beaches. Worst of all, we have the not at all well done fight scenes. All of that distracted from the beautifully simple message of the original.

Jesus is Love!

[rajivness · 7/10 · 12 January 2014]

OK, so this sequel wasn't as gripping as the first one. It didn't dispel as many misconceptions as the first movie either - with the only exception of gently suggesting that Asian beliefs are not of God and followers of that will Not receive Salvation, Nirvana, Enlightenment or ever lasting life.

This movie is also extremely slow paced compared to the first film. Also, the scripts seems to hurry along with each character receiving their revelation or Epiphany. The only characters that had a good Q&A with Jesus was the Junkie and the Hotel owner. The drug dealer's and hotel owner's wife's revelation were Luke-warm at best.

Will be interesting to see if the next sequel can do better. Would also help if it had some star power. The first one had quite a few stars - Sting (the superstar pro wrestler) and Jaci Velazquez.

All in all - an enjoyable and enriching experience. God Bless you all and have a blessed 2014.

Very poor film

[zemran · 6 April 2013]

Poor acting, weak plot and despite going to a beautiful place the camera work is also poor. Do American people really think that an American DEA officer can use a gun here? He would be executed for murder if he killed someone. Just the same as if a Thai drugs officer started shooting people in Miami. Most Thai people cannot even read English so the badge hanging around his neck means no more than a badge written in Thai would mean in America. Really stupid story. After that low beginning it just rapidly goes downhill. I would like to end with a complement, to be polite and put a nice sentence of mitigation but there is no saving grace in this film. It is pathetic religious propaganda.

Bad Message

[mwallen1985 · 1/10 · 9 October 2012]

Well, I guess we should all get saved in our young teen years and then live life like we want to without worrying about Hell since evidently the message in this movie is that you can do just that and still make it to Heaven. Since when did accepting a gift from the God (Eternal Life) become a forced ticket to Heaven even if you serve Satan from that point on?

The first movie was good, but this movie is trying to appeal to worldly views and Hollywood views of God that everyone makes it to Heaven so long as they cried "Lord Lord" (Matthew 7:21) at one point or another in their life than they are guaranteed a ticket to Heaven, period… because we don't want to hurt anyone's feelings and we have to treat our congregations and brethren with kid gloves so not to offend anyone because our society is stuck on the pacifier and won't read what the Bible says. Not everyone who cries Lord Lord will enter into heaven but only he who DOES THE WILL of my Father who is in heaven. I am pretty sure doing Heroin and dying of an overdose is NOT doing the will of God. And just because you cried Lord Lord at the age of 14 and asking God into your life and then living for Satan and dying in your sins outside of the will of God would be a big disqualifier. Also, the movie takes about "Free Will" if you ask Jesus into your life and then you are FORCED into heaven even after living for Satan and worshipping Satan, than the movie contradicts itself. People like to bring up how God promised eternal life and it wouldn't be eternal if you could be "unsaved". Yes, God promised eternal life, to everyone, and it is up to you where you want to spend it. People like to bring up how in Roman's it says "nothing can separate a Christian from God's love". This passage which is a common defense for eternal security has nothing to do with it because if the Christian stays a Christian or not God will love them. In John it talks about how nothing can remove a Christian from God's hand and this is true, because as the movie talked about, you have free will and you must chose to leave God and to turn your back on him and follow Satan and the path to eternal torment. In essence, you will not be removed from his by force; you will choose to leave it under your own free will by accepting Satan as your God.

this is not half as good as the first

[lagudafuad · 3/10 · 15 December 2012]

The first Encounter done two years before this one had something that I liked which was, one of the characters gets to challenge God with some really mind bogging question that many of us today would really like to ask, the question was "if God is love, then why did he order a genocide, by telling the Israelites to kill all living thing in Canaan?" This second Encounter mind bogging question was, "If it pains God so much to see innocent children die; why does he not stop it?"

Like in the first the mind bogging question was answered not with skill of words but by saying the truth according to the scripture.

The Encounter: Paradise Lost has the same bad cinematography as the first and a longer wait time till we see Jesus. I don't think this movie is anywhere as good as the first because it lacks the innocent adventure that the first movie possesses.

Wrapped around the tsunami that hit Thailand in 2004, this movie's weak script and less impressive acting made it hard for me to keep awake while watching; I thought the cinematography in the first was bad, well because the first was shot in a confined area I didn't get to see a full dosage of what the cinematographer could dish out, well due to the success of the first movie the makers used more scenery and lot more cast and all we have is a washed up story that at the end I learnt nothing.

The movie plot is broader than that of the first, it goes on for like 38 minutes before we get to the Jesus character, when we do see him he is again in an enclosed area with people this time there are 6. A couple who just lost a son, a drug dealer, his henchman, the drug dealer's wife and a police officer chasing down the drug dealer.

The character Jesus comes into play and tries to save everybody, but like the first movie not everybody got saved and death which resulted from not following Christ also came to play in this film.

The acting was more a mediocre than the one in the first, the movie lacked of good actors and the man who played Jesus (Bruce Marchiano) was like a king among slaves when the acting is considered. This movie is what makes many people stay away from independent films, badly produced, story line is weak and the movie itself is just boring with a capital B.

Many great producers came about from making independent films, but this producer needs to go back to the drawing board and give us a better story. I wish I could un-watch this movie.

www.lagsreviews.com

Paradise Lost and Found

[thaigirlgod · 8/10 · 4 October 2012]

I just watched Paradise Lost and, I admit, I cried a few times. I liked it just as much as the first (maybe even a bit more). The conclusion was a lot better than the first. I know that the characters were different from the norm of what you'd see at an American cafe, but each character represented the experiences of multitudes of people around the world: empty and addicted to drugs, believing that...pain is an illusion/that through thousands of lifetimes, one can get redeemed, selling drugs to get rich, sold into sexual slavery, full of bitterness, sadness and despair/losing one's faith due to loss of a child or loved one, etc. Good to see David A.R. White playing the role of the police officer in Thailand. That Jason Statham-esque scene was well-coordinated by the way!

Soars to New Lows

[brucew-91074 · 1/10 · 22 October 2022]

I have come to the conclusion that this the worst movie that I have ever seen in my whole life. It was so bad that it provoked me to write a review of it which I almost never do. It was similar to many thrillers with characters running around with .45 automatic pistols threatening them and getting the upper hand. But in the end you are really bored and don't care. I have seen so many movies like this that I decided that I don't what to see any more a long time ago. It was shown at my church and I couldn't figure out how for the life of me this was going to be a religious movie. Then all of a sudden one of the characters says that he is Jesus. He starts making various statements that are ridiculous if not just asinine. Several of the characters are shot and killed which is surprising for a religious movie. On the surface it is just a boring crime movie with some nut saying (unconvincingly) that he is Jesus.

Great movie!

[Johnsod8 · 8/10 · 25 September 2012]

I love the guy who plays Jesus in this movie and the first Encounter movie. He has the greatest smile and is extremely believable in the role. I think it's so great that real Bible Christianity is finally being taught here. A Christian heroin addict dies and they show that she goes to heaven. Of course she would. Does the Bible teach that taking drugs is a bigger sin than the sin of doubt, worry, fear or lying, and no one doubts that those sins will keep you out of heaven. Thank goodness the blood paid for it all! I didn't mind the violence so much because, why sugar coat real life and the problems real life Christians face everyday!

I'm obsessed with

[jinx_malone · 10/10 · 2 February 2013]

Christian films. They're so wretched that they've become a guilty pleasure for me, which is why this gets a ten. I have this awful tendency to hand out tens to movies which are so bad they cross the line into total awesome. It's a problem and I should try to stop, but I'm not there just yet.

Over time and many, many terrible, pretentious films, I've learned that David A.R. White is the cream of the crop when it comes to the bizarro world of Xtian filmmaking. He also bears an uncanny resemblance to a very good friend of mine, but why should you care about that? I know you don't, I'm rambling. Anyhow.

I saw the first 'Encounter' when digging through instantwatcher's Faith and Spirituality section looking for documentaries and soon after that I was hunting down these things like a junkie looks for a fix.

The sanctimony drips from the screen, the awful dialogue sometimes ripped directly from the Bible so as not to offend the faithful, the preachy nonsense--all of that's on display here. It's sort of like watching a Jack Chick tract come to life, and in my opinion there's absolutely nothing bad about that. All these films lack are cartoon devils yelling HAW HAW HAW at the folks unlucky enough to burn in never ending hellfire.

If you want to watch something so terrible that it might make you giggle, check out the wild and wooly world of Xtian film. Watch this movie! It's exciting, it's ridiculous, it MIGHT EVEN SAVE YOUR SOUL.

But watch out for the characters named Deville! And no, I'm not making that up.

Stay Away

[donai77 · 23 September 2012]

Wow, I was highly disappointed with the Encounter 2. The pureness, simplicity, and intricate character development of the first film are missing here. Instead we have a pseudo-Christian film that wants so badly to be a secular Hollywood action thriller instead of a movie glorifying Christ. Why do we need such senseless violence and gun play in a Christian film? A girl overdoses on heroin but she still goes to heaven because she gave her life to Christ when she was fourteen? Huh, does that make any sense?? I left the first film feeling encouraged and uplifted. After watching this movie I wanted to repent. Don't waste your time on it.

Encountering "The Encounter", part two...

[pdactyl-91402 · 10/10 · 8 April 2020]

After watching The Encounter (movie), and really enjoying it, I was game to watch this second one. While different in plot, style, and follow-through, I enjoyed it just as much as the first one. The real-life trials the characters were going through added to the reality. I really enjoyed it. Bruce Marchiano's modern-day portrayal of Jesus. He is warm and friendly, and gives a loving touch to the relationship Jesus Christ desires to have with each one of us.

Maybe not as good as the first but it is good

[fleroux-96950 · 8/10 · 23 March 2021]

With Christian films (and all faith films) when they get a hit (the original) the sequels are normally not anywhere near as good, this one is different. It may not be as good as the original but it's worth the watch. Maybe should have been a two part episode in the tv series instead.

A Heavenly Revelation of Faith and Redemption

[sonuta · 10 December 2023]

Encounter: Paradise Lost (2012) transcends mere entertainment. It's a profound exploration of faith, sacrifice, and the enduring power of love in the face of unimaginable darkness. Steeped in the richness of Christian tradition, the film serves as a beacon of hope, illuminating the path towards salvation through unwavering faith in Jesus Christ.

From the outset, the movie immerses us in a world teetering on the precipice of chaos. We witness the insidious influence of Satan, twisting the hearts of men and pushing humanity towards the brink of eternal damnation. However, amidst this bleak landscape, a flicker of hope ignites.

A band of ordinary individuals, guided by unwavering faith and unwavering devotion to Jesus Christ, embarks on a perilous journey to restore balance and reclaim paradise. Their struggles and sacrifices are testaments to the power of faith, showcasing the transformative impact it can have on even the most hardened souls.

Encounter: Paradise Lost masterfully weaves together biblical narratives with contemporary themes, creating a tapestry both timeless and deeply relatable. The characters, though fictional, resonate with the deepest human emotions - doubt, fear, and the longing for redemption. We see ourselves reflected in their journey, prompting us to examine our own lives and consider our relationship with God.

The film's visual splendor is breathtaking, with each scene meticulously crafted to evoke a sense of awe and wonder. The music, too, plays a pivotal role, underscoring the emotional depth of the narrative and guiding viewers through the various stages of the characters' journeys.

But Encounter: Paradise Lost isn't just about mesmerizing visuals and powerful emotions. It's a call to action, urging viewers to recognize the dangers of Satan's influence and cling ever tighter to the teachings of Jesus Christ. It highlights the importance of traditional Christian values such as love, forgiveness, and compassion as the cornerstones of a life well-lived.

The film's climax is a heart-stopping event that leaves a lasting impression. It serves as a stark reminder of the constant battle between good and evil, and the importance of remaining vigilant in our spiritual lives.

Encounter: Paradise Lost is not just a movie; it's an experience. It's a journey of faith, a call to action, and a testament to the transformative power of Jesus Christ. It leaves you feeling hopeful, inspired, and motivated to live a life of purpose, guided by the unwavering light of God. This film is a must-watch for anyone seeking a deeper understanding of faith, a renewed sense of hope, and the strength to overcome any obstacle through the grace of Jesus Christ.