13/48
Amidst the chaos, a former Green Beret joins the prep team; love grows, truths emerge, and a community comes together. Neal McDonough agreed to star in this project because he liked Angel Studios and wanted to play a non-villain role. After appearing as a benefactor in The Shift (2023), McDonough made a deal with Angel Studios to submit some of his projects to the company for optional release if they were approved by the audience that made up the Angel Guild. This was the first of his projects to be approved for financing and release. Released in 2023 is Illuminate (2023). Angel Studios’ films are definitely improving in terms of acting, writing, and overall film quality. Homestead deals with a very scary subject matter, starting us on the day of the incident to show how quickly things would likely fall apart. . There is little to no information about the characters or the state of the world. What you learn about the characters is gleaned from the conversations that occur. This can be both good and bad – good in them when the plot moves at a fast pace, bad because you don’t invest in them as people. Some of the archetypes used are a little “one-note”. I was initially annoyed by the usual portrayal of veteran types and their rigidity. But it’s definitely part of the character arc that shows that people can and will change through experience, so it really works and I expect more development as the series progresses. It certainly sticks to the redemption-through-faith arc, and it has some very obvious allegories (like Jesus using the loaves and fishes to feed the masses), but I didn’t find it over the top, forced or done in an unrealistic way. It’s a flawed film in some ways, but what film isn’t? The debates are driven by dialogue that could definitely have been written better. The direction could have been more pointed. The aftermath of the attacks could have been shown a little more. But overall it was still a good movie and we all enjoyed it.