God’s Not Dead: In God We Trust (2024) review

Dir. Vance Null

By: Steve Pulaski

Rating: ★½

I went back and reread my review of God’s Not Dead: We the People; the most positive comment I could pay that film was that the family next to whom I was seated were incredibly friendly and generous. Here, I am faced with its follow-up, the now-fourth sequel to the runaway hit from 2014, each one’s profile seemingly getting smaller and smaller. The kindest thing I can say about God’s Not Dead: In God We Trust? It’s not as repugnant nor as morally bankrupt as its predecessor.

For me to expect a God’s Not Dead sequel to be anything more than an alarmist political screed draped in Christian wish-fulfillment is downright misguided. These are films that spend their energy waxing paranoid about the disappearance of Christianity in public education. We the People, by far the series’ most loathsome installment, decided to get bent-out-of-shape over the nonexistent war the US government was waging on homeschooling.

On that note, In God We Trust gets one thing right: we deserve better politicians.

Democrats deserve someone like Peter Kane (reprised by Ray Wise, who played him briefly in God’s Not Dead 2), a pragmatic lawmaker who staunchly believes the church and state should be kept separated. Taxes should even be levied on places of worship. Healthcare should be universal. The government should not play “God” in people’s lives, but instead work for the people. I already like him more than I like a majority of politicians.

Republicans deserve someone like Reverend David Hill (series mainstay David A. R. White), a principled pastor, who is thrust into the Arkansas Congressional race when Kane’s opponent dies in the middle of election season. With six weeks left before ballots are cast, campaign manager Lottie Day (Samaire Armstrong) catches the next flight to convince David to run (he’s gone viral for past courtroom speeches, so that ultimately qualifies him). David initially scoffs. Then he prays over it and agrees to run.

Silly him, however, as he tries to approach the campaign trail with the same moral honesty and Christian values that have guided him to have success in the four walls of his church. That won’t fly with voters, says Lottie, who is more interested in slinging mud to beat her rival, Kane’s campaign manager (Scott Baio). Kane sets up a series of phony opportunities for David to explain his principles. Kane invites him on his podcast where he barely lets him speak and then mutes his mic just as he gets going. David believes that the mortal body and the immortal soul blur the lines of church and state, one of many ludicrous statements in the film that will surely get its devoted crowd howling in agreement in theaters over the next week.

Apparently the race for the Arkansas Senate seat is so topical and contested that it requires multiple nationally televised debates on shows like Huckabee. Naturally, however, In God We Trust is predicated off of strawman arguments with little backbone and substance. The film’s opening montage shows you all the things you should be scared of: pandemic lockdowns, vaccines, and riots. Kane is an amoral and evil character because he dare believe that in a country of many religions, one should not rule over all others. David is a good and righteous individual because he evokes the teachings of Christ while decrying socialism.

By the time the otherwise wooden and anticlimactic final debate inevitably begins, screenwriter Tommy Blaze ostensibly runs out of fuel to retort Kane’s valid political barbs. So, that means David must start preaching the gospel, encouraging constituents to register to vote under the guise that 40 million Christians do not vote and 15 million are not even registered to do so in the first place.

One more positive for In God We Trust: the film ends with a QR code one can scan to register to vote and view additional scenes from the film. I’d take that over Angel Studios’ “Pay it Forward” grift any day. In both cases, however, I’d also take a better movie before an obligatory call-to-action.

NOTE: God’s Not Dead: In God We Trust runs in limited theatrical engagement from September 12th – 18th, 2024.

NOTE II: Take a listen to my interview with Ray Wise, who reprises his role of Peter Kane in God’s Not Dead: In God We Trust:

My review of God’s Not Dead
My review of God’s Not Dead 2
My review of God’s Not Dead: A Light in Darkness
My review of God’s Not Dead: We the People

Starring: David A. R. White, Ray Wise, Samaire Armstrong, Scott Baio, Isaiah Washington, and Dean Cain. Directed by: Vance Null.