Today’s Prayer Focus
MOVIE REVIEW

Six: The Mark Unleashed

Reviewed by: Joe Sinko
CONTRIBUTOR

Moral Rating: Good
Moviemaking Quality:
Primary Audience: Teens Adults
Genre: Drama, Endtimes, Christian
Length: 1 hr. 46 min.
Year of Release: 2004
USA Release: June 29, 2004, nationwide direct to DVD/video release
Featuring Stephen Baldwin (Barney Rubble in “The Flintstones in Viva Rock Vegas,” “Bio-Dome,” “The Usual Suspects,” “Born on the Fourth of July”) (brother of Alec Baldwin, William Baldwin, Daniel Baldwin)
David A.R. White (Mercy Streets)
Kevin Downes (“Time Changer,” “Mercy Streets”)
Jeffrey Dean Morgan
Eric Roberts (“Mercy Streets,” “Less Than Perfect”)
Amy Moon
Brad Heller
Troy Winbush
Cosimo Michael
John Gilbert
Director Kevin Downes (produced “Mercy Streets”, and co-wrote and produced “The Moment After,” with David A.R. White. Kevin’s other producing credits include “Lay It Down” and the most recent “Time Changer”).
Producer Kevin Downes, David A.R. White, Bobby Downes (a Signal Hill Pictures production)
Distributor Christian Cinema

Here’s what the distributor says about their film: “In the last days before Armageddon, a brutal dictator rules Earth. Using high-tech surveillance from satellites through a sophisticated chip implant, the Community Police Force infiltrates every facet of human existence, tracing each physical and digital footprint left behind. For humanity, freedom is just a fond memory and defiance means death. Two political prisoners (David A.R. White, Kevin Downes) meet a mysterious stranger (Stephen Baldwin) who holds the key to their escape and mankind’s survival.

Unbeknownst to the prisoners, CPF agents broker a deal with an inmate (Jeffrey Dean Morgan) for his life in exchange for betraying Christian renegades. These three unlikely allies must escape the executioner’s blade, thwart a manhunt by elite CPF operatives (Amy Moon, Brad Heller) and join forces with the world’s most wanted fugitive: the leader of the resistance (Cosimo Michael). If they fail, humanity will be marked for death, the resistance will collapse and the enemy will have taken every last life.”

I have to say that I truly enjoyed this movie; it’s one of the best Christian films I’ve seen. Over 1½ hours long, the time flew by. My wife, teenagers, and 11 year old son have also watched it several times with me, and it kept their attention every time. This tells me a lot about how well the movie was done.

I highly recommend this movie because it gets across the message that individuals will personally pay the price for the choices they make about what they do with Christ. The movie is set in an end times scenario, but it doesn’t try to teach doctrinal lessons about all that will happen in Daniel’s 70th week. If you see this movie because you want to watch a film that will help you understand all the nuances about eschatology, you will miss the entire point. The movie is not about trying to turn people into either pre, mid, or post-tribulationists. Nor does it set a timeline for all the events that will happen during that time. In fact, the vast majority of the prophetical teachings about the tribulation/great tribulation are not even mentioned. This movie is not about that, even though it is clearly set during the time that the antichrist is in power.

I found the acting performances to be quite good. The actors all seemed to believe that the movie had an important message that needed to get out, and most importantly, they believed the message, too. Having a veteran actor like Stephen Baldwin in the cast made an impressive impact, especially knowing that he is now a true believer. This came across loud and clear throughout the movie, and I felt I was seeing into his heart.

The other main actors also did great jobs with their parts. My wife was moved to tears at least three times, especially during the conversion scenes. I also found the scenes truly thought-provoking, as they were dealing with some pretty heavy subjects, ranging from salvation to skepticism, and the power of faith over fear.

There are several stories going on at once, but audiences are unlikely to get lost in any of them. From the opening scene to the closing, it was a tight and focused script, with the main message being that the most important choice we have to make in this life is whether or not we will accept Christ as our Savior, and the fact that this one choice alone will determine where we will spend eternity. I was very impressed with the way the story line unfolded around this theme and never wavered. The reality of people taking their stand for Christ, and then losing their lives for their witness is very well presented, and backed up with Scripture.

The reality that a genuine, faithful witness can lead to death was well handled, and nothing overly graphic was shown.

A great portion of the story takes place in a prison and the dialog is excellent. This would be a great movie to watch with an unsaved friend, and then talk about what it all means.

Now that I’ve seen the movie four times, I highly recommend it as definitely worth seeing.


Viewer CommentsSend your comments
Positive—This is a great movie to share with your unsaved friends and family. It is one of the best prophetic movies that I have seen.
My Ratings: [Excellent/5]
Chris Draper, age 17
Positive—“…Both Rexella and I believe this to be the greatest religious release we have ever watched. I know you will be tremendously moved as never before when viewing this Holy Spirit led production…
Dr. Jack Van Impe, President, JVI International
Positive—“…The power of the gospel to transform the lives of the characters is shown with deeply moving reality. So real is the presentation of the plan of salvation in this movie, the viewer will be left without excuse…
Pastor John Hagee, Global Evangelism Television
Negative—…I’ll admit that I only watched about 30-40 minutes of this pile of celluloid refuse (toward the end of the film), though I don’t think I could have handled much more… God bless Stephen Baldwin; I can’t imagine coming into a saving faith in Jesus Christ in Hollywood. But good grief! He was laughable in this “film”! I was blushing in a room all by myself for him. And he was probably the best of the bunch. I felt as if I was watching the old “Up All Night” program on USA. This movie is as “B-rated” as they come…
My Ratings: [Excellent/1]
Jim, age 24
Comments from young people
Positive—To me, Six: The Mark Unleashed was one movie that moved me to live more devoted to Jesus. I just love the way how God was using the Christian people in the movie mightly to win people for Christ. I just love this movie, and I think that the creators of this movie did an excellent job!
My Ratings: [Excellent!/5]
Ricky, age 16
Positive—Great movie! I caught it on TBN. Very great film, and I suggest you all see it.
My Ratings: [Excellent!/4½]
Dylan, age 12