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ABSOLUTE POWER

"A Jewel Thief Acquires Secret Knowledge"

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What You Need To Know:

In ABSOLUTE POWER, a jewel thief named Luther played by Clint Eastwood watches the President of the united States commit violent adultery with the wife of an influential and powerful philanthropist. Before the woman can kill her presidential tormentor, the secret service kill her. Luther struggles to reveal his weighty secret knowledge of high-level corruption and exact retribution on the country’s most powerful man, while fending off attacks by two secret service agents who are setting him up to be the fall guy.

Suspenseful and tense, this movie is about a wanted man bearing a secret. Well-written and expertly directed, ABSOLUTE POWER depicts outrageous presidential conduct. Regrettably, the movie is not an ode to the biblical concept of Lex Rex which holds that God’s Law is above even the president and calls us to bring ungodly rulers to justice, but instead an ode to pagan vigilante justice which God abhors. Clint Eastwood uses his talents and steely presence to portray a jewel thief in a cop and robber drama, but he only turns heroic because of a quirk of fate. Although he “wants to make things right,” he actually enables the victim to exact revenge on the killer. This Dirty Harry remains dirty in ABSOLUTE POWER

Content:

(Pa, LL, VV, SS, A, D, M) Pagan worldview of jewel thief who holds secret knowledge; 11 obscenities & 2 blasphemies; depicted adulterous sex including implied oral sex & one violent sex scene with hitting & strangling; men shoot woman dead, image of corpse, man shoves woman in car over cliff, assassins shoot at man & miss, & man carries knife into office with implied murder; alcohol use; smoking; and, corruption in government

More Detail:

In ABSOLUTE POWER, a jewel thief behind a two-way mirror surprises the President of the United States in the act of committing violent adultery with the wife of an influential and powerful philanthropist. Before she can kill her presidential tormentor, the Secret Service kill her. Suspenseful and tense, this movie is about a wanted man bearing weighty secret knowledge who has to find a way to share it without getting caught or killed himself. Foreboding, the movie ends with a shocking twist.

Master jewel thief, Luther Whitney (Clint Eastwood), successfully disarms the technically advanced alarm in the home of a wealthy philanthropist and loads up jewels and cash from the owner’s private safe. By chance, a man and woman enter the bedroom and begin kissing and caressing each other. The sex turns violent. When the man slaps the woman, she retaliates by cutting him with a letter opener. When she raises her arm to stab him, she is shot by two Secret Service agents. It turns out her lethal lover is Allan Richmond (Gene Hackman), the President of the United States, and her husband is the President’s best friend, billionaire Walter Sullivan (E.G. Marshall). The cunning thief waits for the trouble to calm down to escape through the window, taking the letter opener stained with the President’s blood and finger prints. He is chased by the Secret Service, but escapes unscathed.

Then, Luther visits his estranged daughter Kate (Laura Hinney) on her daily jog and tells her of his intentions to leave the country for good. Kate, a prosecutor, is not impressed with her father’s career as a criminal and his decision to leave. At the airport, Luther sees a television press conference where the President publicly praises and embraces Walter Sullivan. Enraged by the President’s lecherous deception, he decides to remain in the US to expose his duplicity.

With a well-written plot by screenwriter and book author, William Goldman, this movie ends with a shocking twist. Regrettably, ABSOLUTE POWER, is not an ode to the biblical concept of Lex Rex which holds that God’s Law is above even the king or the president. If that were the case, the corrupt president in this movie should and would have been brought to justice. However, the justice in this movie is outside the law as it is in most of Mr. Eastwood’s movies, and therefore it is abhorrent to God. That is not to say that God does not enact just punishment on ungodly rulers (He does!), but it is to say that God’s word is very clear that we are called to deal with the unjust ruler within the guidelines of God’s Law and not to take the law into our own hands. Thus, in the final analysis, this is a pagan movie which depicts outrageous presidential conduct and vigilante justice.

Clint Eastwood uses all his talents and steely presence to portray a jewel thief in a cop and robber drama, but he only turns heroic because of a quirk of fate. Though he witnesses a crime, he remains a thief. Although it is true that this character “wants to make things right” with his estranged daughter, the role is a waste of Eastwood’s charisma and talent. This leading producer, director and actor had the potential to raise the standards of American heroes, but chose instead to present us with a faulty hero and vigilante justice. This Dirty Harry remains dirty.

Now more than ever we’re bombarded by darkness in media, movies, and TV. Movieguide® has fought back for almost 40 years, working within Hollywood to propel uplifting and positive content. We’re proud to say we’ve collaborated with some of the top industry players to influence and redeem entertainment for Jesus. Still, the most influential person in Hollywood is you. The viewer.

What you listen to, watch, and read has power. Movieguide® wants to give you the resources to empower the good and the beautiful. But we can’t do it alone. We need your support.

You can make a difference with as little as $7. It takes only a moment. If you can, consider supporting our ministry with a monthly gift. Thank you.

Movieguide® is a 501c3 and all donations are tax deductible.


Now more than ever we’re bombarded by darkness in media, movies, and TV. Movieguide® has fought back for almost 40 years, working within Hollywood to propel uplifting and positive content. We’re proud to say we’ve collaborated with some of the top industry players to influence and redeem entertainment for Jesus. Still, the most influential person in Hollywood is you. The viewer.

What you listen to, watch, and read has power. Movieguide® wants to give you the resources to empower the good and the beautiful. But we can’t do it alone. We need your support.

You can make a difference with as little as $7. It takes only a moment. If you can, consider supporting our ministry with a monthly gift. Thank you.

Movieguide® is a 501c3 and all donations are tax deductible.