Beckman doesn’t work on a multitude of levels, not least of which is the glorification of vigilante violence coming from Christian-marketed material, a topic that made the rounds in the news last year due to The Sound of Freedom beating out Indy5 and Tom Cruise at the Box Office one weekend (The Sound of Freedom was in third place. Meanwhile, Barbie was in first and Oppenheimer in second). I get it. I understand why the Christian community has an underlying frustrating and impatience regarding justice. Part of our pursuit of patience is waiting upon the Lord’s timing in justice. Part of that patience is also what grows us in grace, for if the Lord did not prolong his patience for our sake, postponing the day he returns to enact justice, we too could be caught in the crossfire. Praise God, then, for his will and rule, that God has set the date of his judgement in the future, perhaps even minutes after I post this review, so that those who are alive right now at this moment have the opportunity to learn of his kindness toward their wretched souls (of which mine is the foremost. Sorry Paul, we’re just going to have to fight for this one). With this in mind, however, it is no surprise that the human soul, a soul that has initially denied God, struggles with patience regarding the concept of justice. It is easy to think now that one is safe from judgement to then want judgement to be expedited. Why not, right? “I am safe.” One may think. “The work here is done. Let’s get on with it.” Well, again, praise God for his patience. There is plenty of work to be done in inviting others to be with Him.
All that said, there is an impatience with justice we all experience. Romans is clear; the whole world is suffering in the pains of childbirth waiting for the new age when Christ returns from the Heavens to save those who are His, remove those who are not, and live in a peaceable, perfect land. Some, however, seek to manufacture this outside of what is lawful and good (i.e. outside of ethical means, such as submission to the local authority). The militant right, which outwardly prescribes to be Christian, fantasizes with their guns and their testosterone to overpower that which is their enemy. Yes, the Christian does have enemies, just as many people do, but the unique calling of the Christian is to love their enemy. Jesus makes clear that even the pagan is capable of loving those he likes, but it is the Christian who is called to specifically love those he hates. It is a small testament to God Himself, that God loves what is despicable before him: man. If God is so willing to save what is worthy of derision – man – so far that he would sacrifice His only Son in the place of sinners (and Jesus being the second person of the trinity, and thus God Himself dying in our place), then the Christian man has the ideal to strive for: to do what is loving even at the expense of his own life.
Beckman isn’t really about any of this. Not really. And, honestly, we all know I enjoy violent, gory, even revenge-filled justice-seeking plotlines. So, I’m not necessarily against the engagement of the fiction that sort of material provides. No, I think it’s fine to enjoy a Darkman, a Taken, a John Wick. However, it is also deeply important to take into account cultural context, and Beckman has so many cultural pieces against it that it makes it inappropriate. It makes it questionable. It makes it irresponsible.
Beckman continues the cool-guy Christian fantasy of doing what’s right through immoral means, then exploiting repentance in the end. Sure, the character is earnest in his “struggle”, but the meta-analysis of this material, at risk of sounding pretentious, is attempting to satisfy:
- Christians who want to watch a violent movie that isn’t overly sexual or violent
- Christians who perhaps hold a vendetta against their cultural enemies and seek satisfaction
- Christians who wear the team jersey who support their version of popular media
For a community of people who have God on their side, they so often act as though they have very little. So, they celebrate and are satisfied when they believe they have struck gold, but really it is nothing but foolishness.
If you’ve heard our episode on Beckman you’ll note I wasn’t this critical of the film. I’m probably more critical now because of The Sound of Freedom and the dangerous material that that propagates. The fact that both Beckman and The Sound of Freedom utilize child-sex trafficking for their villains is devilishly heinous. It means that someone can use one of the strongest bad-faith arguments whenever you say you don’t like them. Ironic, of course, that it’s both bad-faith and also ignoring the fact that most sex-crimes take place within coteries pervaded with bad boundaries. Like the statistical increase in deaths a house contains when someone owns a gun (due to self-harm or accidental firing), sexual crimes also occur largely due to in-house issues. Or even churches. But, no Christian-marketed material would stand beside a Beckman sequel about him raging against exploitative, evil pastors.
Beckman, though, as a movie – and I’ll keep this brief – is largely boring. It has some awkward moments that are just kinda boring, one moment that got a genuine cheer (because it was so ridiculous and silly and fun), and other moments where I kept observing bonafide errors in the editing. It’s not a smart movie and it also doesn’t think you’re smart, either. How do I know this? I immediately listened to the commentary track after this watch. Yes, I stayed up until 1AM rewatching a movie like this right afterward. I have no self control. Otherwise, it has no climax (which is also made clear why in the commentary) and continues this weird saga of David A.R. White being a pastor in movies despite not being a pastor in real life. Dude, just go to seminary. What are you doing?
Okay, I’m tired now. Good night.
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Melvin Benson is the Founder, Editor-In-Chief, and Lead Host of Cinematic Doctrine. Whether it’s a movie, show, game, comic, or novel, it doesn’t matter. As long as it’s rich, he’s ready and willing to give it a try! His hope is to see King Jesus glorified as far as the east is from the west!
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