The Second Chance (2005)
Picture: C+
Sound: C+ Extras: C+ Film: C+
Though the media, even conservative media is oddly
ignoring it, we are in a cycle of Christian-themed films. Too many have been predictable and
formulaic, even when they have been sincere, while others have exceeded certain
trappings like the Tyler Perry films reviewed elsewhere on this site. Steve Taylor’s The Second Chance
(2005) is interesting in that it seems like a serious knock-off of the Elvis
Presley/Mary Tyler Moore camp classic Change Of Habit from 1970.
In that story, three nuns were sent to a bad neighborhood
to try to help out the poor and needy in the middle of violence and
despair. This variant substitutes the
ladies for singer Michael W. Smith as the comparatively radical Christian
preacher and singer who is seen as going too far in his enthusiasm for Jesus
and is sent to a like parish. Here, he
meets a very streetwise minister (jeff obafemi carr, purposely spelled all
lower case) who teams up with him to take on new challenges. The film has some predictabilities and Mr.
Smith never does music as unintentionally amusing as the God and Gospel tunes
from Habit, nor is the conclusion as bizarre as the Elvis vehicle. However, it manages to be more consistent than
many productions of the cycle and that against so many bad Hollywood and
independent disasters is half the battle won.
The anamorphically enhanced 1.85 X 1 image is not bad in
color, but has some detail and depth limits a newer production should not. In addition, The Dolby Digital sound here
may be a 5.1 mix, but it cannot hide the low-budget origins of the on the set
recording. Of course, the music by Mr.
Smith and other songs have better fidelity and make better uses of the
otherwise inconsistent surrounds.
Extras include two Music Videos, the trailer, questions text, audio
commentary by the director, Smith & carr, three featurettes and J. Don
Ferguson’s Story. If it your kind of
material, you’ll have plenty to look at here.
- Nicholas Sheffo
