Recently, my wife and I saw the movie ‘Knowing,’ starring Nicholas Cage. The film is an apocalyptic action/suspense flick much like ‘The Day After Tomorrow’ and the like. Cage plays an astrophysics professor at MIT whose son becomes involved with the sequence of events that will eventually end the world.

I’m not going to give away the exact plot, but there are some discussions of thematic ideas… So if you haven’t seen the movie and don’t want to know anything, read my other post… In any case, after leaving the theater and thinking about the film, I’ve come to a few conclusions on various levels…

On the most superficial of levels, ‘Knowing’ is a combination of previous film ideas. Again, I’m not going to go into detail about anything involving the plot, but let’s just say that there are elements of ‘Mercury Rising,’ ‘Signs,’ ‘The Day After Tomorrow,’ and ‘War of the Worlds’ scattered throughout the film. Director Alex Proyas certainly has an original script, but there are many moments during which these allusions are unmistakeable. The special effects are plenty sufficient, though, to overcome whatever monotony exists in the storyline. Plane and subway crashes, mass destruction, apocalyptic scenes and just overall solid cinematography. As I said, it’s quite suspenseful and full of action.

On a much higher and abstract level, the film deals with explores a number of subjects dealing with faith and the like. I am not sure how many of you have read C.S. Lewis’ Space Trilogy… but the premise is the question of whether God could have created alternate universes/worlds/dimensions in which he also created intelligent life (with their own salvation stories). ‘Knowing’ is an extension of this idea, in a sense. At the same time, the film also develops upon the Biblical reference of Enoch in Hebrews 11:5 (By faith Enoch was taken up so that he would not see death ; and he was not found because God took him up; for he obtained the witness that before his being taken up he was pleasing to God). A third biblical reference is the idea that angels are complex beings, both instilling fear and comfort.

If you combine these three ideas, you get the gist of the entire film. What I find interesting is the director’s (and screenwriters’) willingness to interject this faith-based thematic element into the film. I am not saying that the film is a direct correlate to the Bible and that it should be seen as such… However, I am saying that it does take a shot at putting into imagery some of these concepts. And for us Jesus-following Christians, it is important to discuss these ideas.

In any case, I suggest to at least RedBox the film when it comes out. Make sure the children are nowhere near the screen or the subwoofer, as there are pretty suspenseful (and downright scary) moments. When you watch the film, don’t get caught up too much in the special effects or any poor acting on the part of the main characters. Instead, pay attention to the thematic elements… Not necessarily the plot in a direct manner, but the director’s interpretation of universal themes (and the one’s discussed here).

If any of you do eventually see it and want to discuss it… Post a comment here. Maybe we can get some good ideas flowing.

After all, simply ingesting media and entertainment for entertainment’s sake is folly. It is important to digest and interpret that to which we are exposed…