Absolute Dominion (2025)

This Christian-leaning film directed by a martial arts expert preaches a confusing mix of liberal pro-science atheism and Christian deism that would be way more interesting if the fight scenes weren't such a slog. It's too bad because ABSOLUTE DOMINION has so much good going for it. Director Lexi Alexander has a genuinely interesting career and an obvious expertise and passion for combat sports. Her most notable film is possibly PUNISHER: WAR ZONE (2008), a commercial failure at the time that has since become a cult classic. She was notable for being the first female director of a Marvel franchise film, but the gritty and hyper-violent take on PUNISHER didn't land well with critics or audiences. Alexander had some famous defenders though -- comedian Patton Oswalt has repeatedly gone on record praising the film. It's probably not a coincidence that he and fellow celebrity fan Alex Winter both appear in ABSOLUTE DOMINION in supporting roles. We hypothesize that both jumped at the chance to support a new Lexi Alexander project with an interesting script. In ABSOLUTE DOMINION, Oswalt plays a fictional influencer/streamer named Fix Huntley who goes viral in the year 2085 AD pitching the idea for a worldwide martial arts tournament where the major world religions each send a champion to fight for religious dominance. In the war-torn dystopian future of 2085, society jumps at the chance for a civil Mortal Kombat-style tournament instead of scattered warfare and bloodshed. The three major world religions, Celestians, Pentotities, and Dashafaris, all send champions, but a last-minute rogue entry named Sagan Bruno steals the show. Sagan represents the Institute for Humanism in Science -- a perfect fighter born of a eugenics project, to a scientist mother and athlete father, neither of which have a relationship with him. Bruno quickly jumps to the top of the competition, but his worldview is rocked when blessings from a supernatural force begin to guide his combat. Could this force be none other than capital "G" God? Or is it just a miracle of logic and reason? It's too bad ABSOLUTE DOMINION couldn't stick the landing because it is undoubtedly a breath of fresh air in a sea of Christian movies with the exact same stereotypical evangelical perspective. View our full episode list and subscribe to any of our public feeds: http://boysbiblestudy.com Unlock 2+ bonus episodes per month: http://patreon.com/boysbiblestudy Follow us on Instagram: http://instagram.com/boysbiblestudy Follow us on Twitter: http://twitter.com/boysbiblestudy