Deceived (2002)
In a remote space observatory perched high in the Sierra Nevada Mountains, a needle frantically scratches erratic lines on a strip chart recorder confirming an extraterrestrial signal. Emmett Shaw, the powerful, charismatic billionaire who owns the observatory, rushes to the station, hungry to expose the discovery. This is the biggest moment in human history and he is the man responsible for it all. With the goal of immediately sharing the signal with the entire world, he brings along two leading journalists--Kara Walsh, an extremely attractive, top-notch investigative reporter who begrudgingly owes her career to Shaw, and Reverend Fletcher, a new age visionary with the hottest radio show in the country. Also accompanying Shaw is Jack Jones, a scruffy but brilliant computer technician whose pessimistic and often sarcastic attitude ruffles many feathers in the group--especially Smitty's, the program director, who happens to be Jack's ex-girlfriend and the only Christian in the group.
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SERIOUSLY. This is what the crap Hollywood still puts out?
It's a mild crowd pleaser for people who are exhausted by blockbusters.
Clever and entertaining enough to recommend even to members of the 1%
This is a dark and sometimes deeply uncomfortable drama
The script is bad, the acting substandard and melodramatic, the budget was probably way up in the 4 or maybe 5 digit range. Even so, I've seen worse. Just because it happens to offer the perspective of a Christian doesn't make it as horrible as so many other reviewers seem to think.There are other movies that preach "New Age" beliefs and aren't treated this poorly. Is it possible that people are letting their beliefs taint the reviews just a little? Yes this IS a bad movie, but some people actually do enjoy watching them. Why not just enjoy it for the poor qualities you would judge any other film?As for whether its Sci-Fi, I've seen Ghost, The Flintstones and The Mainitou listed under Sci-Fi. Unfortunately an argument could be made for their inclusion. Now if there were an accepted category of Christian movies I might agree with moving this there. There isn't, so why quibble? Again just look at it like any other B movie and get off the Anti-Christian rhetoric.
I'll be honest, when I picked up "Deceived", I was less than looking forward to viewing it. Given Cloud Ten's horrible and unbearable movie record, it's still a mystery why I picked it up. But since I was out of movies to watch for the night, I popped it in.SURPRISE!!!This has to be Cloud Ten's best movie to date. After seeing all of the others (Revelation, Tribulation, Judgment, Left Behind, ect.) I was surprised to find out that Cloud Ten is learning the meaning of the word, "Quality". The script wasn't that bad at all; it was not overly preachy. There were some awkward dialogue, but it was a LOT less than all the other movies. As far as casting goes, again lot's of improvement from previous films. I think that casting Judd Nelson was a good decision as well as that of Gossit. It was well photographed, the sound mix was decent and the score actually fit.Overall, I'd give it a 7 out of 10. It's not totally perfect (Title Sequence) , but it's getting there. Regardless of what others might think, "Deceived", has quality behind it that ALL the other Cloud Ten movies could only long for. If Cloud Ten continues on this path, they may just win me back.
As a fan of the Cloud Ten apocalyptical movies I expected more of the same. Unfortunately, this one did not live up to the others both in story and in production values. The story and therefore the sets were limited, with opportunities missed to branch out from what the observatory really was experiencing.The final scene gives the opportunity for a sequel. I say don't bother and lets have more from the O.N.E stories.
Once again, Cloud 10 shows that independent Christian movies can be made that are good enough to stand on their own against the major players.Deceived has a storyline that is not overly "Preachy", showing that the message of the Bible need not be forced down the throats of non-believers. The movie has a "Twilight Zone" feel to it,and is very well acted. The movie watching experience is different for Believers & Unbelievers. Christians see the EvilOne working his craft and those with True faith overcoming evil. Non-Christians see a movie about the battle between the Military, The Rich, and "Religious Fanatics". Each greedily fighting over something that will make them what they want the most. RICH, POWERFUL, POPULAR...etc. All without the viewer realizing that they are being educated (Subtlety) about who God is, and what a True Christian believes. Except for a couple prayer scences, the movie manages to convey the christian faith without making non-christians feel "preached" to.