Movie Review: Waiting for Armageddon (2009)

Religion and disease — two of the most destructive aspects of modern society. Both have the tendency to spread like wildfire and both can alter a person’s physical and mental well-being. However, disease can be cured or prevented — religion cannot; because before human beings learned how to think both rationally and peacefully, we learned how to tap into the forbidden fountains of “spirituality,” whose springs promise fruition in life and salvation in the cold grasps of death. In essence, most people are too weak to notice all the facts of human existence — loss, hardships, even war — and thus substitute their fear of what is real, for something that might be real, and that of course breeds more . . . war. But the reason that I say “might” instead of “isn’t,” is because I simply doubt. I don’t know — there might be a God — however, the conspiracy theories which claim Hitler is still ruling in a reanimated brain might be real, but I don’t dedicate my entire life to that belief.

Directors David Heilbroner and Franco Sacchi, instead of tackling the issue of religion, encourage it in their Waiting for Armageddon, a film which practically presents itself as a forum for idiots. It simply follows America’s evangelical community, which is convinced that the end of times is prophesied in the Bible, and that that end is approaching . . . quickly.

The entire film just irked me — from beginning to end. Admittedly, when I first approached the film, I did not expect in-depth explanations, but I did hunger for some background information on the topic. What Waiting for Armageddon serves instead is a bunch of regular religious folk who go on about how the world is going to end in a beautifully orchestrated battle between good and evil.

One believer says “When God comes back, he’ll be back with wrath, it won’t be a happy time to see God . . .” That begs the question “how come all of these people are so excited?”

A mother proclaims that her children won’t graduate high-school, won’t have children, and won’t get married. Here’s a zinger — the children are actually happy about this. In their eyes, they can die in their teens — as long as they see God.
Another follower says that you must be Christian in order for your life to be meaningful.

A pastor says that the final battle (according to the Bible, Jesus will come down and smite Satan and his minions — along with anyone who doesn’t place faith in him) would be “fun to watch” because he wouldn’t be involved (he is referring to the Rapture, which states that all followers of Christ — dead or alive — will be lifted into the clouds and safe from the turbulent period of time that follows).

Another believer claims that Islam is a “world-dominating” religion. This is just plain ironic because throughout the film, all of these faithfuls talk about is how if you don’t join Christianity — you will be killed.

There is not one opposing view throughout the entire film. Everything is sugar-coated to the extreme. Nothing is challenged and no argument is refuted. Waiting for Armageddon is a seventy-four minute long documentary which features nothing but fundamentalists preaching about how the Rapture is going to be a great time for them and how paradise is within their grasp.

I learned absolutely nothing from the film, which is in essence, an infomercial for Christianity. Actually, let me restate that because I did learn one thing: America is the most fucking backwards country in the entire world.