At this point in time, Kevin Sorbo had better learn to direct a movie and quickly, because the only tools he has in his disposal are the fact he was in the show about the bare chested demigod. No, not that one. You know—uh—the one that began the even better show “Xena”? It even spawned a prequel with Ryan Gosling who is ten times the actor Sorbo ever was. Right, that one! Anyway, Kevin Sorbo continues sapping what little star power he has left, alongside other hardcore Christian in what is essentially yet another chapter in the ongoing film series “Atheists and Muslims are evil, Christians are Wonderful.”
Sorbo is essentially the same character from “God’s Not Dead,” a well known and militant atheist who is basically atheist because God took his son from him (Atheists are just mad and bitter, pay no mind). Instead of Evil McAtheist, he’s more Smug McAtheist, a man who mocks others for being Christian, and even cheers for hedonism by raising his fist in a vaguely Nazi like pose. As Sol Harkins, he’s involved in a drunken car crash and manages to experience the after life. He suffers no repercussions for drunk driving, but he manages to come in contact with the spirit of his son who insists he “Let There Be Light.” When he returns to life, he is convinced his son wants him to convert to Christianity like his ex-wife and two sons did. Thus his journey begins to convert and—you know—let there be light and stuff.
To prove how inept the film is, Sorbo is never quite sure what he means by “Let There Be Light.” Does his son want his dad to become a Christian? Does he want his dead to spread “the light” of Christianity to the world? Does he want his dad to bring light to his own soul? In either case, Sorbo devises some hackneyed goofy plot involving lights from Earth shining in to the heavens, which is supposed to be symbolic of something. With more clarity on what the hell the title means and with a cast that can turn in moderately solid performances, “Let There Be Light” could have ended up a powerful film. At least “Heaven is For Real” had Dennis Quaid. With simplicity, “Let There Be Light” could have even been a nice movie about letting love prevail, and learning to see the beauty of life.
Instead Sorbo’s film proselytizes, and wholeheartedly admits it over and over again. There’s no effort to tell a tale, and in Sorbo’s case, absolutely no effort to perform. “Let There Be Light” is another bit of religious propaganda that wears its intentions on its sleeve, which wouldn’t be so bad if it weren’t so hackneyed, anti-Muslim, and silly.