121 Minutes In Hell
Firstly, to put an end to the replies criticizing my criticism that it's only based on a hatred of religion or the theme of the movie, I am a Christian and although I'm not generally a fan of them, I give any "religious" film a chance. Most of the time they feel like they are based on events that transpired on another planet; people, dialogue and most of the time even locations or set dressings are sanitized to the point the suspension of reality needs to be on par with a science fiction film. With that in mind, I'll start with the one good thing I have to say about 90 Minutes in Heaven - it at least looks like it took place on the planet earth, in the year 1989. The cinematography and design and props departments did a fine job (I particularly enjoyed seeing Teddy Ruxpin in a couple of scenes)
The two stars of the film had little to work with other than extensive makeup. Could we not all tell Kate Bosworth really didn't want to be there? If looking to make a mark on this genre, she should have instead gave the forthcoming "Captive" a look - because she nailed the nuances of somebody held against their will in 90 Minutes in Heaven, although maybe not deliberately. Hayden gets the award for best fake accent. His portrayal of Don Piper was believable in the first few moments, until the car crash scene left him forced to portray a man struggling internally and externally, with only the reasons for the latter conveyed at all to the audience. At this point the real-life Don Piper had lost his will to live because the heaven he saw in his near death experience made life on earth lackluster (you could compare that to seeing a really great film, and then seeing this one) none of that is explained, either verbally or otherwise. It just looks to the viewer like Don is being an *beep* to his wife and family, doctors, nurses, in-laws and fellow congregants (and was perhaps further unsettled because his broken leg made it impossible to kick any dogs) because of the accident. Hayden pulled off the best performance he could manage without being able to let the audience in on anything. He deserves an Oscar for not walking off set and seeing the first lawyer in Atlanta he could find that specialized in contract termination.
From there, it gets really painful. Don gets better, but we're really only emotionally invested in that payoff because we know it will lead to the merciful end of the film. Next to nothing about his N.D.E. is explained. In between a couple of commercials for McDonalds, the film's best actor (Marshall Bell) shows off the homework he obviously did for the role when explaining what the "fixator" does to help heal Don's badly broken leg. It maybe the only thing I truly got out of the movie - knowing what the hell one of those is for.
Oh, wait - one more good thing I can say about the movie - It was made by a sort of first of it's kind non-profit entertainment corporation. Any profits (although I would imagine some Hollywood accounting and big bonuses come in somewhere) will be donated to charity. Unfortunately, there probably won't be any.
One of the worst movies I've ever seen. But it did bring me closer to God. From the beginning of it, I was praying the end was near.