Smuggler's Ransom

Audience Reviews

View All (2) audience reviews

Audience Member I'm glad this movie was only 50 minutes long, thus technically making it not an actual movie. It was so crappy it could have been shorter. It is made by a Christian movie company and is about a secret agent that has to sneak into Cold War era Romania to rescue the daughter of a scientist who defected from Cuba who is being held hostage. She got arrested for smuggling bibles into Communist held Eastern Europe and her ransom is her father. The US isn't going to give him up, so they send in Anthony Tyler Quinn, Mr. Turner from Boy Meets World, to rescue her. It was so poorly made and the girl they got to play the daughter may be the worst actress in history. And there was the invariably annoying scene where she throws a fit about him killing people. Maybe the most ridiculous scene was where Mr. Turner becomes a Christian, whispering some nonsensical prayer while the daughter is asleep, and bad guys are looking for them. Not that I'm against accepting Christ, just poorly constructed scenes about it. This was awful! Rated 1.5/5 Stars •  Rated 1.5 out of 5 stars 02/18/23 Full Review Audience Member [URL=http://www.praisepictures.com/sr_review.php]View Review Source[/URL] Smugglers Ransom, is a film that might surprise anyone who comes across it. On the outside it might seem like a film you might see on the internet somewhere, the low budget side of the film definitely shows. Although if you understand just what was used to create the film and the lack of resources available (watch the Making Of on the DVD to get a good idea), it's actually pretty remarkable. Films near this budget are often gag inducing YouTube worthy films that will never see the light of day. This film on the other hand breaks that mold, something that is quite a feat. The greatest strength of the film is its story. It's a unique idea for a film with a faith-based message. Christian action films don't really exist, and even if they do, they are HORRIBLE. They end up all action, no story. Nothing but explosions, gun fire and VFX. Thats unfortunate because often the films that do that have the budget that could be used to create something that balances story and action. Smugglers does that with $5000 budget, go figure. Anthony Tyler Quinn pulls off a great performance as Bill Donnely. I wasn't so sure how I would feel about him until the ending of the film where the most emotional part of the film takes place. The quality of the film collimates into that moment. Sometimes all that's needed to make a “mediocre” film an “ok” film, and an “ok” film a “good” film is that one scene that makes the rest of the film worth it. That scene is what did it for me. The shortcomings of the film happen in the middle and almost ruined it for me until the ending where things took off. I think if you read other reviews on the film you'll find that most viewers didn't want it to end but wanted to see a little more. That might be the only major shortcoming of the film, is its length. The story could have been fleshed out more and the film itself isn't incredible but at this budget range and with the resources the filmmakers had to work with, it's a good effort. This film is a good example of doing a lot with a little, and should be an inspiration to others who are forced to work under such conditions. Give this film a look, you never know if it'll grow on you. [URL=http://www.christiancinema.com/partners/scripts/t.php?a_aid=67f65594&a_bid=&desturl=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.christiancinema.com%2Fcatalog%2Fproduct_info.php%3Fproducts_id%3D2431]Buy from ChristianCinema.com[/URL] Kyle Prohaska CEO, Praise Pictures http://www.praisepictures.com Rated 2/5 Stars •  Rated 2 out of 5 stars 02/11/23 Full Review Read all reviews

Smuggler's Ransom

My Rating

Read More Read Less POST RATING WRITE A REVIEW EDIT REVIEW

Most Popular at Home Now