Pros:
1.) I…like the idea for this movie. After a near-fatal heart attack, Makoto Mioya decided to be a spiritual leader to the world by writing books inspiring people around the world to be more loving and faithful. It is slightly interesting because it could potentially show how the world and his family would react after such a near-fatal attack and continuing to get better in the process. How the movie does this…I will explain in the cons.
2.) It is interesting to see a different spiritual side of “faith.” I put those in quotes because you will know why when I explain it in the overall section. Regardless, it is somewhat interesting to see how Makoto gets his realization of his spiritual awakening. How the movie does this…I will explain in the cons.
3.) While this is brief, I like how Makoto met his wife, Isoko. It is the funniest moment in the movie, and probably the only scene where it is believably heart-warming. While it may not be the most amazing scene ever, compared to the rest of the movie, it is desperately needed.
Cons:
1.) First of all, even though this is a foreign movie, I can tell that the acting is bad. The four worst actors are the child actors and one British guy that appeared briefly. For the child actors, there were very few moments where I took their acting seriously considering their bare-bone attempts. It does not help that their characters are unrealistically relaxed about their dad dying (except the youngest one, but his moment of despair is not believable). As for the British guy, when he starts to cry after confessing that he got better by following Makoto’s spiritual ways, I almost wanted to laugh at his terrible acting. The acting is a mixed bag at best and unrealistic at worst.
2.) Apparently, Makoto has a supernatural ability to see and talk to angels (or spirits, it is not that clear). This is barely utilized throughout the entire movie. It is only significant when he was dying, but after that, there is barely any use of it other than he can heal people now. They are just conveniences as a result, and when they appear, it feels like something Makoto would figure out on his own. These spirits/angels feel out of place, so they do not belong in this movie.
3.) Before I watched this movie, I was told that it is a “Christian” movie. If it is, it has the same problems as any other Christian movie: it is too preachy and too in-your-face on the messages. It also gets complicated when one of those messages talks about how faith can heal every wound and disease. That in itself is a tricky subject, and many people will not agree once they think about it, making this movie’s message suspicious at best.
Overall:
Interesting story about how I watched this movie: I was planning to watch Zombieland: Double Tap or Maleficent: Mistress of Evil until this Japanese woman was in front of the movie theater offering free tickets for Immortal Hero. The person I was with wanted to watch because she liked that it was free, and the woman claimed it was a “Christian” movie. After watching it, I was wondering how the movie was based on a true story, so I looked it up. It is apparently based on the life of Ryuho Okawa, CEO and founder of the Happy Science religious organization. I watched a so-called “Christian” movie about the rise of a religious cult; no wonder this movie is weird, and not in a good way.
With the pamphlet I received from the Japanese woman, this movie is the winner of 22 film awards, and I fail to see how. It has so many problems like any other Christian movie, except the problems are so abnormal that I prefer to watch a Christian movie. Acting is bad, the writing is poor and uncanny (though I admit that I am a bit bias on the uncanny part), and the message is so doubtful and poorly delivered, I wonder if the filmmakers even believe it (particularly how being faithful and loving does not always work). I am admittedly harshly critical about this movie, but there are so many questionable things about this movie that bothers me that I just cannot ignore it. If there is one thing I like about it, at least I watched it for free, but I wish it was on Zombieland: Double Tap or Maleficent: Mistress of Evil instead.
3/10
benzeyeview 