"The Oath" Movie

[Rain]

14 minutes ago, Pyreaux said:

Like what? Anachronisms? Was it other creative liberties, like with the dialog?

The one I can kind of remember was about Nephi being tied up on the boat. I don't remember exactly what the problem was though.

 

[smac97]

36 minutes ago, Pyreaux said:

Like what? Anachronisms? Was it other creative liberties, like with the dialog?

Looks like the jury is still out on horses during BOM times:

 

[Calm]

43 minutes ago, Pyreaux said:

Like what? Anachronisms? Was it other creative liberties, like with the dialog?

One was over what Laman and Lemuel actually did as in added action, filling in gaps to up the drama.  Another had something to do with the Jaredites,

[Calm]

Dup

Edited December 8, 2023 by Calm

[smac97]

Another review: https://religionunplugged.com/news/2023/12/8/the-oath-shows-lds-movies-still-have-growing-to-do

Quote

“The Oath” has its heart in the right place but ends up falling prey to the same flaws of writing and filmmaking that have always plagued faith-based films in the past.

Hmm.  

Quote

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (a group commonly called Mormons) has its own, often overlooked, film industry within the subculture of Christian films. While evangelicals and Catholics have produced such movies as “Fireproof,” “I Can Only Imagine” and “God’s Not Dead,” Mormons have (so I hear) “The Best Two Years” and “The Other Side of Heaven.” 

I've never seen "The Best Two Years."  I have seen "The Other Side of Heaven" a few times, and it I think it is quite good as a faith-based film.

Quote

Sadly, “The Oath” shows us that the Mormon faith-based movie industry — just like faith-based movies generally — still have a long way to go.

There is clearly a love in this movie for the source material as well as classic “sword and sandals” epics from the early 2000s like “Gladiator” and “Braveheart,” as evidenced by how many of their archetypes and tropes you can find throughout the movie. These were a genre of film that combined spirituality and masculine heroism that haven’t really been replicated since in Hollywood.  

I — particularly as a religious man — definitely get the appeal of trying to capture that magic. There are times where that works, such as certain trippy moments when Moroni prays. When you imagine the glee of the filmmakers getting to play in the sandbox of this kind of world, there is charm to that.

Unfortunately, the execution is largely a parade of cheap cliches of the genre rather than a transfer of its spirit. You have the stoic noble hero, the lady love, the nasty villain, the wide open spaces, the savages, the fights, the tragic/noble deaths and the spiritual imagery. But most of it is flat and cardboard in execution. The dialogue is dull and lifeless and even preachy. The characters never dig beneath their archetypes. There’s very little even of the cheap thrills associated with the genre. If you’re here for the action, there’s only one fight scene. If you’re here for the romance, the two leads have no chemistry. If you’re here for the wide open spaces, it’s shot in a way that will largely just remind you of movies that did it better. In fact, much of the film can be summed up by saying, “It reminds me of better films.”

Nevertheless, “The Oath” is a testament to the power of faith stories and the need for all people to have them represented. But it’s also a reminder how far all people of faith have to go to live up to that power and those needs.

Thanks,

-Smac

[Tacenda]

42 minutes ago, smac97 said:

Another review: https://religionunplugged.com/news/2023/12/8/the-oath-shows-lds-movies-still-have-growing-to-do

Hmm.  

I've never seen "The Best Two Years."  I have seen "The Other Side of Heaven" a few times, and it I think it is quite good as a faith-based film.

Thanks,

-Smac

I'm shocked! You've never seen The Best Two Years??? Well get right over to the nearest Deseret Book or put a call out to a neighbor or ? And watch it, loved it. And I'm a weirdo I guess because I loved "Hometeachers" as well! And Single's Ward, and The Other Side of Heaven, and so many more. When we can laugh at ourselves as LDS, in my true blue days, it made it so we as LDS are not that boring, don't need alcohol to have fun, and we just have fun. We love our games, we love so many normal human things, we aren't in a cult like atmosphere, we're even a little rowdy! That is what I loved about being LDS, and we also had very spiritual meetings and felt the spirit during those music and talks. This is what I miss, and will always miss. 

[bluebell]

1 hour ago, smac97 said:

Another review: https://religionunplugged.com/news/2023/12/8/the-oath-shows-lds-movies-still-have-growing-to-do

Hmm.  

I've never seen "The Best Two Years."  I have seen "The Other Side of Heaven" a few times, and it I think it is quite good as a faith-based film.

Thanks,

-Smac

You have to see the Best Two Years!!  It's one of the top 3 movies in "mormondom".  Seriously it's go so much heart and it's hilarious.  

[bluebell]

35 minutes ago, Tacenda said:

I'm shocked! You've never seen The Best Two Years??? Well get right over to the nearest Deseret Book or put a call out to a neighbor or ? And watch it, loved it. And I'm a weirdo I guess because I loved "Hometeachers" as well! And Single's Ward, and The Other Side of Heaven, and so many more. When we can laugh at ourselves as LDS, in my true blue days, it made it so we as LDS are not that boring, don't need alcohol to have fun, and we just have fun. We love our games, we love so many normal human things, we aren't in a cult like atmosphere, we're even a little rowdy! That is what I loved about being LDS, and we also had very spiritual meetings and felt the spirit during those music and talks. This is what I miss, and will always miss. 

Agreed!

[Analytics]

On 12/7/2023 at 2:00 AM, smac97 said:

Anyway, watch the vid and then let me know your thoughts. 

Personally, I can't imagine a way the Book of Mormon could be portrayed in a movie that wouldn't look silly. I'd love to be proven wrong, but that's my basic opinion.

It looks like Darin Scott tried to overcome the inherent problems with making a Book of Mormon movie by telling a story that is in that setting but isn't actually told in the book itself. That's an interesting approach, I guess, but there just isn't very much about the Book of Mormon that would be a sensible background for a movie. That's my view.

So if this movie really is "clunky, dull and undercooked while very low on thrills, suspense and emotional depth" as the critics say, what upside does the Church have in bringing attention to it?

The Book of Mormon musical presents a sympathetic view of missionaries and makes the entire religious movement look significant enough to be worth depicting on Broadway. In contrast, why would the Church want to bring attention to "A limp, underfinanced Pre-Columbian “Last of the Mohicans” action adventure...and a dull MesoAmerican thriller built on Mormonism’s foundation myth, with just enough magical thinking thrown in to make everything presented here play as eye-rolling hokum."?

I suspect the PR guy who saw the screening was merely trying to be polite when he said this would be a net-positive for the Church. Darin Scott seems to think the Church is distancing itself because it doesn't want to get entangled in for-profit endeavors. I think the Church is distancing itself because the movie just isn't very good and draws attention to how weird some of the beliefs are.

Having said all that, kudos to Darin Scott for giving it a try. Making a movie about something that is so personal and heartfelt must be a terrifying endeavor, and I salute him for putting it out there.

Edited December 8, 2023 by Analytics

[Thinking]

This is the same guy who gets mad at his friends (or ward members) when they won't buy the overpriced set of steak knives that he is trying to sell - the ones that he bought 20 sets of for his entry level buy-in.

[Analytics]

The last paragraph of this review says: 

“Oath” is about a story that needs to be compelling enough to be the backbone of belief. "The Oath” isn’t anywhere near compelling, convincing or even interesting enough to make that sale. The movie’s rubbish, which just underscores the idea that the theology behind it might be balderdash.

If he's right, that explains why the Church isn't drawing attention to it.

Edited December 8, 2023 by Analytics

[gopher]

2 hours ago, bluebell said:

You have to see the Best Two Years!!  It's one of the top 3 movies in "mormondom".  Seriously it's go so much heart and it's hilarious.  

None of them tops Once I was a beehive.  I cried when the little girl thought the bear ate her dog.  SPOILER ALERT!  It didn't.

[bluebell]

It annoys me that he went with the whole "white good guys against the heathen natives" theme when that's not what is actually happening at all in that time period.  Everyone was equally "native" at that point.  The movie could have sidestepped some incredibly obvious criticisms so easily!

 

[bluebell]

1 minute ago, gopher said:

None of them tops Once I was a beehive.  I cried when the little girl thought the bear ate her dog.  SPOILER ALERT!  It didn't.

I saw that one, it was cute.  Have you watched the sequel?  I haven't.

[InCognitus]

Just now, bluebell said:

I saw that one, it was cute.  Have you watched the sequel?  I haven't.

There's a sequel to that?  (I saw the original).  What's the sequel?  "Once I was a 12 to 13 year old young women group person, formerly known as 'Beehives'"?

[gopher]

7 minutes ago, bluebell said:

I saw that one, it was cute.  Have you watched the sequel?  I haven't.

I tried, but fell asleep after 30 minutes.  I guess she ended up not marrying the guy?  I missed the ending.

[gopher]

5 minutes ago, InCognitus said:

There's a sequel to that?  (I saw the original).  What's the sequel?  "Once I was a 12 to 13 year old young women group person, formerly known as 'Beehives'"?

Once I was engaged, or something like that

[bluebell]

2 hours ago, InCognitus said:

There's a sequel to that?  (I saw the original).  What's the sequel?  "Once I was a 12 to 13 year old young women group person, formerly known as 'Beehives'"?

Gopher got it right.  "Once I was Engaged".  It came out in 2021.

[california boy]

21 hours ago, smac97 said:

https://www.cinelinx.com/movie-news/movie-reviews/the-oath-is-an-agressively-bad-historical-epic-review/

A review.

Not good.  Bummer.

This is just further proof that the guy has no idea how the movie industry works.  He seems have the naive idea that the hardest part about the motion picture industry is to get a film made.  That is perhaps the easiest part of the whole process.  A movie has to start with a good script.  Part of my job when I worked for the motion picture company was to read scripts and let them know if I found a good one.  I read literally hundreds of scripts.  Never found one that I thought should be turned into a movie.  Sounds like he started off with a script that would probably been tossed in the garbage bin by most motion picture companies.

[Pyreaux]

The Oath (2023)

It was a chore to get through, its main problem is its too long and too drawn out. It would be much better if it were cut. The worst of the slowness is at the worst time, the beginning. 30 mins in you feel all that time you could have gotten a refill and not missed anything. You mainly start to watch Moroni, which I guess establishes he's alone, but he doing things that are not very interesting. Like meditating and laying in a field. Too much silence trying to be mysterious. There should have kept feeding the audience information/context. But they won't explain the mystery, it's all being held back to surprise another character midway in the film. But harms the replay value.

Until he meets a young maiden, then it picks up a bit into a slightly cringy love story. She even gets a little Meta, by telling Moroni to his face, "You're boring!". Though it seems to be finally at the story portion except there is a long "teaching her to read" segment that needed to be cut down. There is a cute and wholesome relationship developing. There is a weak element of danger, as someone is looking for her. The drama that makes Moroni cry and yell I think was an over-reaction I didn't want to see.

Then the last segment is a... a very Gladiator-Moroni ending... It's not bad, it probably the best part really. If they'd had simply teased that any physical conflict was coming and was worth waiting for would have been better. Very Gladiator-que, from his sword and armor, to other things I won't spoil, but you'll probably see it. General audiences will not know what is going on. The best dialog were BoM quotes, which there should have been more, it could have been more like the Book of Eli, quote a cryptic verse to counsel or mystify, then fight. They needed an extra fight or close call near the start, to get an idea of what's coming or had better survival stuff. Moroni's voice over used the term "New World" once near the end. There is a weird end message of how the Lord will remember his oath and remember his people (he means the gathering of Israel), but it's confusing, because it's basically Moroni saying it, while he himself is clearly doomed and his people forsaken.

Edited December 9, 2023 by Pyreaux

[The Nehor]

10 hours ago, california boy said:

This is just further proof that the guy has no idea how the movie industry works.  He seems have the naive idea that the hardest part about the motion picture industry is to get a film made.  That is perhaps the easiest part of the whole process.  A movie has to start with a good script.  Part of my job when I worked for the motion picture company was to read scripts and let them know if I found a good one.  I read literally hundreds of scripts.  Never found one that I thought should be turned into a movie.  Sounds like he started off with a script that would probably been tossed in the garbage bin by most motion picture companies.

[bluebell]

I just noticed that the video plea has been made private.  I sincerely feel for the guy. You can tell this project means a lot to him. 

[Raingirl]

31 minutes ago, bluebell said:

I just noticed that the video plea has been made private.  I sincerely feel for the guy. You can tell this project means a lot to him. 

Maybe he made it private because he doesn’t want people finding out his real name and his association with the Capital riot. 

[bluebell]

31 minutes ago, Raingirl said:

Maybe he made it private because he doesn’t want people finding out his real name and his association with the Capital riot. 

I think you are right in that he’s regretting the negative attention. 

[Calm]

11 hours ago, Pyreaux said:

The Oath (2023)

It was a chore to get through, its main problem is its too long and too drawn out. It would be much better if it were cut. The worst of the slowness is at the worst time, the beginning. 30 mins in you feel all that time you could have gotten a refill and not missed anything. You mainly start to watch Moroni, which I guess establishes he's alone, but he doing things that are not very interesting. Like meditating and laying in a field. Too much silence trying to be mysterious. There should have kept feeding the audience information/context. But they won't explain the mystery, it's all being held back to surprise another character midway in the film. But harms the replay value.

Until he meets a young maiden, then it picks up a bit into a slightly cringy love story. She even gets a little Meta, by telling Moroni to his face, "You're boring!". Though it seems to be finally at the story portion except there is a long "teaching her to read" segment that needed to be cut down. There is a cute and wholesome relationship developing. There is a weak element of danger, as someone is looking for her. The drama that makes Moroni cry and yell I think was an over-reaction I didn't want to see.

Then the last segment is a... a very Gladiator-Moroni ending... It's not bad, it probably the best part really. If they'd had simply teased that any physical conflict was coming and was worth waiting for would have been better. Very Gladiator-que, from his sword and armor, to other things I won't spoil, but you'll probably see it. General audiences will not know what is going on. The best dialog were BoM quotes, which there should have been more, it could have been more like the Book of Eli, quote a cryptic verse to counsel or mystify, then fight. They needed an extra fight or close call near the start, to get an idea of what's coming or had better survival stuff. Moroni's voice over used the term "New World" once near the end. There is a weird end message of how the Lord will remember his oath and remember his people (he means the gathering of Israel), but it's confusing, because it's basically Moroni saying it, while he himself is clearly doomed and his people forsaken.

Appreciate you enduring it to share with us. Not that I would have gone, but now I won’t feel like a hypocrite (by judging it without knowledge) when I roll my eyes when someone brings it up.