Big Bad Billy and His Boat Starring Russell Crowe

I took the two oldest grandchildren to see “God’s Not Dead.” It was sold out and the next show with seats available was a mega-hit ($44,000,000 in revenue last weekend) about a man who heard the “Creator” communicate with him about saving all animal species. The “Creator” wanted to destroy all humanity because they were evil. But he wanted to use the man and his family to save the animals. The man was unpleasant and the more he did what the “Creator” wanted him to do, the meaner he got. The “Creator” impressed  the man to let fallen angels who had been turned into lava rocks build a boat. They used trees that suddenly grew from a magic seed that the man’s grandfather had given him. The lava rock became six armed transformers and worked hard to redeem themselves by working on the boat.

One of the man’s sons was married. A younger son found a woman to marry but as they were running to the boat when it started raining she got her foot caught in a bear trap. The young man couldn’t free her. When the father came he refused to help her; he dragged his son away and left the girl to drown.

A huge number of animals  came on the boat and some magic smoke put them all to sleep. The oldest son’s wife got pregnant while on the boat. The father said if she had a boy, he could live. However, if she had a girl, the father said he would be compelled to kill the baby, because the “Creator” wanted all humans dead. Everybody was mad at the man! But the more he obeyed the “Creator,” the meaner and more unlikable he became.

The son’s wife had twin girls. Her father-in-law said he had to do what the “Creator” wanted and murder them both. He took a dagger and started to strike the first little girl. But he looked down at his granddaughter and found love in his heart and disobeyed the “Creator.” He let both girls live. When he didn’t do what the “Creator” had led him to do, he became a little nicer as he disobeyed.

The flood waters receded. The boat landed. Everybody was still aggravated with the father. They all dispersed. He tells the one son with a wife to be fruitful and multiply.

I thought the message of the movie was that the “Creator” is not good and wants to punish humans. But if you will disobey him, you may find love in your heart. You just need to distance yourself from him.

Bad movie. Bad message. I think Hollywood marketing folks named this after some Bible character but I didn’t recognize who it was supposed to be!