I will have to admit the movie is well made, but the changes the writers felt they had to incorporate completely miss the point of the novel. The acting is mostly excellent, however I felt that the Justin Cantwell/Herb Johnson/Brandon Nichols character seemed to lack the feeling and general disposition I got from the novel.
The movie, in general, seems altogether hurried. It doesn't seem to give any time at all for development of the characters involved, and simply leaves it up to the viewer to figure out what's going on. I'll admit I'm biased by knowing the back story of Travis Jordan from the novel. The movie simply leaves most of that out, or changes it to something the novel doesn't even come close to aligning with. I know this can be attributed to making some measure of dramatic license with the novel, to make it more suitable for film. However, adding another 20 minutes to the film could have taken care of the issues of Travis' lost faith.
To me, the whole re-adaptation of Morgan Elliot's role, and her son, Michael, seems completely at odds with the mystery and suspense of the novel. Their inclusion strikes me as almost an afterthought.
The changing of locales where critical plot elements occur do nothing to make the film more adaptable to film. They simply make it more obscure and generally unbelievable. There should have been less an emphasis on shortening the plot, and more on developing the individual characters. Making Brandon's terrible experience occur in the town of Antioch was an incredible travesty in developing the plot of the film. Also, the exclusion of Matt Kiley's supernatural electronics shop of horrors left a great opportunity for a defining scene in the movie. It was a scene waiting to be made to be seen on screen, and thus it left me wanting more. Also, the omission of Dee Henscle's role is mostly trivial, while in the novel it was an important subplot.
All in all, it was a generally good movie, but it pales in comparison to the novel. I simply wasn't drawn into the story like I should be in an Peretti work.
The movie, in general, seems altogether hurried. It doesn't seem to give any time at all for development of the characters involved, and simply leaves it up to the viewer to figure out what's going on. I'll admit I'm biased by knowing the back story of Travis Jordan from the novel. The movie simply leaves most of that out, or changes it to something the novel doesn't even come close to aligning with. I know this can be attributed to making some measure of dramatic license with the novel, to make it more suitable for film. However, adding another 20 minutes to the film could have taken care of the issues of Travis' lost faith.
To me, the whole re-adaptation of Morgan Elliot's role, and her son, Michael, seems completely at odds with the mystery and suspense of the novel. Their inclusion strikes me as almost an afterthought.
The changing of locales where critical plot elements occur do nothing to make the film more adaptable to film. They simply make it more obscure and generally unbelievable. There should have been less an emphasis on shortening the plot, and more on developing the individual characters. Making Brandon's terrible experience occur in the town of Antioch was an incredible travesty in developing the plot of the film. Also, the exclusion of Matt Kiley's supernatural electronics shop of horrors left a great opportunity for a defining scene in the movie. It was a scene waiting to be made to be seen on screen, and thus it left me wanting more. Also, the omission of Dee Henscle's role is mostly trivial, while in the novel it was an important subplot.
All in all, it was a generally good movie, but it pales in comparison to the novel. I simply wasn't drawn into the story like I should be in an Peretti work.