Saturday, March 17, 2012
Happy Sabbath everyone! Yesterday, the DVDs for Leap: Rise of the beast arrived! They look and feel great! In celebration, I had a Leap marathon last night where I watch both Leap films back to back. This morning, as I’m getting ready for church, I felt the need to do a movie review, comparing the two films. Although I am the director and would be considered biased, I think I can look at them unbiasedly. Here we go!
Leap (2009)
Parkour. The art of A to B. But for a group of Christian traceurs, A to B is more than across campus. Shane Turner, an athlete in the art of pk, decides to teach a group of students, who in turn lead him to Christ. Through studying scripture, the group comes to the startling revelation that they are living on the brink of prophecy. Their faith will be tested and relationships strained as the Leap crew fights to spread the truth.
This film was shot in 12 days on a $200 budget with a consumer standard definition camera (Canon ZR800). It’s packed with parkour and Bible studies, but it’s biggest downfall is that every Bible study brings the film to a screeching halt. The film is great for teen youth groups, as the parkour is relevant to their culture and the Bible studies address issues such as sex and the end times.
Leap: Rise of the Beast (2011)
Two years after the events of the first film, the world leaders have given up their power to Vatican City. While most rejoice at the thought of world peace and religious tolerance, Shane Turner and his Leap Crew aren’t buying into it. It’s not long before they identify the papal power as the Beast of Revelation and speak out against it. In response, the Vatican sets out to hunt down the Leap Crew. The end has begun.
This film was shot over 30 days spread over 6 months with a $2000 budget. It was the first feature film completed that was shot with the Canon Rebel T2i and also used only the kit lens that comes with the camera. The film is leaps and bounds (no pun intended) above the first. A Christian action film, ROTB pays homage to the Bourne films. Rather than stopping for studies, information is explained on the go, making the pace much faster and engaging.
Comparison
Below are two similar images showing the quality difference between the two films:
