Don't Believe the Hype

Beautiful, moving film.

The movie really just wants to entertain people.

.Like the great film, it's made with a great deal of visible affection both in front of and behind the camera.

This was made from a great concept. A concept which will blow your mind. The Man from Earth means the creator of mankind. not the God. the reason for human existence. Atheists all around the world will love this film. The whole movie is about just a discussion between a group of university lecturers. The budget is only 200,000$, I think it's just for the payment of the actors. The best low budget movie I've ever seen. The Man from Earth will blow your mind for sure. Trust me.

I must say that this is an interesting premise with an engrossing story line for the first 2/3rd of the movie. The philosophical debates are interesting, relevant, and realistic. Unfortunately, with about 30 minutes to go, the plot goes dreadfully wrong, and turns into a 30 minute long assault (with many assumptions presented as facts) against anyone who might believe in a higher being or human spirit. Hardly no religion is spared, as the blow after body blow are delivered under the guise of an intellectual debate among a group of college professors. It honestly spoiled what was a very good movie up until that moment: Being a credible witness to the entire history of human civilization, into being central person of interest for nearly all tangible human achievement.It shows a stunning lack of imagination by the writers.Had the movie continued as it started, I would have given it probably 8 or 9 stars.

I'm kind of surprised by the pretty high IMDB rating for this cos I can usually rely on IMDB for realistic ratings.Firstly, I am a massive Twilight Zone fan so I can appreciate this film as a bit of a homage to Rod Serling's magnificent creation, but it gets it wrong in so many ways. I liked that The Man from Earth was pretty much shot entirely in one room because I think that can be effective if the story is really strong, but unfortunately this story went a bit wrong.I actually liked the premise of the film - combined with the setting and sparse cast it definitely did have a Twilight Zone vibe but then it simply got too silly with all the daft historical name dropping. And the 'twist' at the end could of been played out so much better.But, on a positive note, the gallop through the last 14,000 years was pretty cool and I did like John's monologues about his life. I liked the low budget, no CGI, no action vibe. And I can't have hated it that much cos I do quite want to watch the sequel (which looks like its got loads of action sequences).

This is one of those unexpected treasures you hope to find when you see a movie. Almost entirely shot in one setting, this film about a conversation is better, in my opinion, than My Dinner With Andre (one of my favorites).I love how Bixby (the writer) makes you think. He gives us a superb "What If" and thrusts us into John Oldman's lifelong enigma, a burden he has carried for a very, very long time. How would you handle his problem? This delightful conversation sucks the viewer in and won't let go until you see how the protagonist resolves his problem. This is a film that makes you think and wonder about other possibilities. For that, I remain deeply grateful to Bixby for taking on the challenge. For my fellow Christians, I only hope they have the patience and bravery to consider that there may be things even they don't know for certain. After all, both scientists and the faithful need to remain humble to the Truth, whatever that truth turns out to be.And today, I just saw the sequel. I gave the original 10 stars; the sequel only 2. If you've ever seen the sequel, I think you'll love the original.