Beyond the Mask (FILM REVIEW)
Beyond the Mask
Film Review
by Kam Williams
Mercenary-Turned-Patriot Redeems Himself in Revolutionary Era Faith-Based Drama
Up until 1775, cold-blooded
assassin William Reynolds
(Andrew Cheney) never had a problem with his job as a hit man
for the East India Tea Company. But the veteran mercenary finally developed
second thoughts about his grisly line of work after being double-crossed by his
diabolical boss, the conniving Charles Kemp (John Rhys-Davies).
So, he ventures to America where
he proceeds to impersonate a recently-deceased vicar upon being fished out of a
lake by a fetching, eligible lass named Charlotte Holloway (Kara Killmer). It’s
love at first sight as soon as their eyes meet, which makes it unfortunate that
this faux man-of-the-cloth’s identity is a total fraud.
The plot thickens when
Charlotte’s long-lost uncle arrives in the New World, since he also just happens to be the
aforementioned Charles Kemp. He not only outs William, but nips the smitten
couple’s budding relationship right in the bud.
Before being run out
of town, the disgraced suitor apologizes for the lies but vows to prove himself
worthy of her love one day. An opportunity for redemption presents itself when
William moves to Philadelphia
and becomes an apprentice to none other than Benjamin Franklin (Alan Madlane).
For, it is 1776, and
Ben, George Washington (John Arden McClure) and the other Founding Fathers are
planning to convene the Continental Congress in the City of Brotherly Love that
July. Meanwhile, it comes to light that evil Uncle Charles is a British
Loyalist with a diametrically-opposed agenda involving disrupting the convention.
Can William foil the
plot, get the girl and gain forgiveness from God? That is the proposition posed
by Beyond the Mask, a swashbuckling Revolutionary War saga featuring an
absorbing mix of romance, derring-do and patriotism served up as a parable of
Biblical proportions.
Directed by Chad
Burns (Pendragon), this unabashedly Christian production is a faith-based film which
avoids heavy-handed moralizing in favor of a subtle style of sermonizing. The sort of action adventure a Born Again
Quentin Tarantino might make.
Very Good
(3 stars)
Rated PG
for action, violence and mature themes
Running time: 103 minutes
Distributor: Burns
Family Studios
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