There's
something about a priest with a gun. I'm an agnostic, but I can still
appreciate a fight for absolute freedom, and For Greater Glory is a film about just that. Director Dean Wright
leads a semi-decent cast in a relevant but poorly executed story about the
fight against religious persecution in turn-of-the-century Mexico.
General
Enrique Gorostieta Velarde (Andy Garcia), despite his lack of faith, leads the
Cristeros (the Catholic rebellion) in the fight against the controlling Presidente
Plutarco Elias Calles for the freedom to peacefully practice their religion.
While
the cast isn't always awful, this movie is an exception. Thank God for Peter
O'Toole, or I would have lost faith in this movie early on. There was way too much tell rather than show"”which
makes for a long, drawn out narrative"”the writer (Michael Love) and director
(Dean Wright) treat the audience as if we are stupid. The obvious parallels
between Christ's suffering and the suffering of the Cristeros and their people
is almost unbearable around the hour and a half mark, and Andy Garcia does more
crying in this film than Liv Tyler in Lord
of the Rings. Not recommended for date night, or any other night, for that
matter.
