Film Review ‘Jesus Revolution’

Written by: Kelly Meade (02/21/23)

The highly anticipated film Jesus Revolution explores every aspect of our human nature with the unique perspectives & personalities that reflect our desire to be seen, heard and loved. Raw emotions of fear, anger, doubt & pride are a struggle for each individual as they continue on their paths to faith and redemption.

At the height of the hippie movement, peace, love and hope was the message that thousands of young people were clinging to amidst the war in Vietnam. While many leaned into drugs, alcohol and everything that made them “feel good”, others were discovering the true peace, love and hope in a relationship with Jesus.

In general, traditional churches of the time held tightly to their beliefs and ideals of what was right and wrong. With its leaders seeing the younger generation as lost yet refusing to meet them at their level, Lonnie Frisbee set out to change that. Meanwhile, a young Greg Laurie was finding his way through his teens getting pulled into the hippie lifestyle complete with chasing their highs. Pastor Chuck Smith leads Calvary Chapel in a manner that was comfortable for him and his older congregation. It is his daughter’s encounter with Lonnie Frisbee that leads to Chuck slowly opening his mind and heart to a new way of reaching people with God’s Word. As the characters lives intertwine & their stories evolve, we see the ups and downs each experience through heartbreaking trials and joyous celebrations.

One of the biggest things that stood out to me while watching is the importance of not letting the human delivering the message of the Gospel become greater than the One our faith should be anchored to. God absolutely can and does work through people who present His word whether through teaching, song or writing, but we must never neglect our direct connection and relationship with our Heavenly Father or place anyone or anything above Him in our lives.

To this day, many question if revival is real. Regardless of our opinions, what matters most is praying that God will speak into the hearts and lives being impacted; continuing to grow the seeds planted with a desire to know Him more.

Jesus Revolution is a film that is sure to spark conversations and has the potential to open many hearts to the message of God’s love & redeeming grace available to all.

Cast includes:

Jonathan Roumie
Kelsey Grammer
Joel Courtney
Kimberly Williams-Paisley

4.3/5