Excellent, a Must See

if their story seems completely bonkers, almost like a feverish work of fiction, you ain't heard nothing yet.

If you like to be scared, if you like to laugh, and if you like to learn a thing or two at the movies, this absolutely cannot be missed.

It really made me laugh, but for some moments I was tearing up because I could relate so much.

0/4 BOMBNot many people know about Liam Neeson's acting debut for the big-screen. I didn't at first either. As a matter of fact, I wasn't engaged enough to realize Neeson was in this garbage until the credits rolled... It was so bad that its just too hard to give this review a nice intro.The movie is an inept reimagining on John Bunyan's classic of the same name. It chronicles Pilgrim's journey of righteousness. If Pilgrim's Progress (the book) had a plot that could do well on screen, that's one thing. This is another.The acting was more tedious than any other aspect of this movie. It was as dry as firewood and about as convincing. The cinematography is in dire need of experimentation. Scenes are either shot in the standard 30's style and no imagination. Then it hit me: There was probably only one person in the room passionate about making this film... the poor investor.I'm not going to go on criticizing every little detail of this movie. It's not that I don't want to, it's that this movie has a profound lack of attention to detail, among its heaping pile of problems. This movie is a true stinker in every sense of the word, and somehow, Neeson made it big time in spite of it.

The cast listing on this picture is incorrect. Peter Thomas is not Worldly Wiseman, he is Pilgrim/Christian. Liam Neeson is both Jesus Christ and Evangelist (his first film experience, and Ken & Max Anderson were a geniuses at talent-scouting). Liam was also in "Christiana", the sequel ("Christiana's Progress" was also Bunyan's sequel to "Pilgrim's Progress"). I believe Maurice O'Callaghan was Worldly Wiseman, who was also Apollyon in Christiana, where Peter Thomas was Pilgrim again and Liam Neeson was Greatheart. Peter is the son of the great Christian preacher/teacher Major Ian Thomas, who wrote "The Indwelling Life of Christ", and founded the Capernwray Schools and Lodges, and began the Torchbearer ministry in churches. Peter is now the National Director and Principal of Capernwray New Zealand (http://www.capernwray.org.nz/AnnouncementRetrieve.aspx?ID=38817) which is a great school, and an all-around great guy, just like his father was.

I think that most of the other commentaries on this film are more concerned with PP as allegory and literature. What they fail to take into account is that this film, by contrast, is primarily concerned with taking the reality behind the allegory seriously. In this, it follows Bunyan himself, who would have been horrified by the prospect of literature students studying his little book as mere literature, when he himself was motivated by the same zeal that also motivated the makers of this film, namely, to save souls from hell! The film is narrated by George Beverly Shea (Dr. Billy Graham's favorite baritone vocalist). Ken Anderson Films is a shamelessly evangelical Christian ministry. I myself first saw this film (and Liam Neeson as well) at a Baptist Church movie night. I was much impressed by both the spiritual content of the story and the arresting screen presence of Neeson, whom anyone could see was headed for stardom. Granting that the production is extremely low-budget, and the acting is quite amateurish at best (except for Neeson, of course). The film is faithful to the message of the book, although condensed into a very abridged format. I applaud the filmmakers for keeping their dramatic devices simple and unsophisticated, as Bunyan himself would have approved. Their point was always the universal plight of the sinful human soul, and it's salvation through the Word of God and the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ, not artfully reproducing each minute literary detail of Bunyan's allegory. My candid advice to the other commentators on this film: please be gracious enough to allow real Christians who care about the true purpose of Bunyan's book to use it as it was intended without harsh criticism. PP is not mere literature, it's only worth is in service to the gospel of the living Savior and Lord, Jesus Christ. When you study it as mere literature, you do it and John Bunyan's memory a great disservice, as he would tell you himself if he were here.

This has to be one of the worst films ever made. I just finished watching this film in literature class after studying the book. How they were ever able to get this film from such a great book is well beyond me. The acting is abysmal, the direction poor, and the writing is some of the worst I have ever heard. The way the devil just pops in and out of scenes is very much like a power rangers episode. The dialogue between the characters is laughable. A lot of the characters seem flamboyantly homosexual when they're not supposed to be. Not even Liam Neeson saves this film from the dustbin. Don't w.a.s.t.e. your time with the movie, read the book instead.