Critics slam faith elements in 'Knowing'

The Da Vinci Cage. (He said knowingly!)

I'm no Nicholas Cage hater by any means, but Knowing wasn't exactly on my radar. Looked a little too close to Next for comfort. But after all the brouhaha I'm more than a little intrigued.

"Knowing's" minimal discussion of faith and spirituality has made the critical corps apoplectic; the movie has been relegated to the land of hokey Christian cinema inhabited by clunkers like "Left Behind" and "Fireproof." Their revulsion is practically palpable. Instead of engaging with the text and discussing its contents in a reasonable way with an eye toward deeper understanding of the source material, critics have lashed out en masse and rejected a stylish thriller because they can't handle a mainstream film that deals with faith in a reasonable manner.

Movieguide confirms the faith-affirming element.

"...Very strong Christian worldview with some intentionally obtuse elements and characters that all conform to biblical hermeneutics, and controversial eschatology, but including a strong renunciation of a random universe (evolution) and an excellent example of reconciliation with overt message that “Jesus is the way, the truth and the life…”

Roger Ebert of course appears to have turned a blind eye to the religion in play but says it's the rare four-star shizzle nonetheless.

The one notable exception to this trend is Roger Ebert. In a four-star review, the critic wrote that the movie "is among the best science-fiction films I've seen — frightening, suspenseful, intelligent and, when it needs to be, rather awesome."

(Hat tip, Big Hollywood.)