THE MASKED SAINT (Warren P. Sonoda). 106 minutes. Opens Friday (January 22). See listings. Rating: NN
The Masked Saint, a drama about a Baptist pastor (and wrestler) who becomes a vigilante to protect his new parish, has better production values than most of its faith-based brethren, and a real director behind the camera in Warren P. Sonoda, who made Coopers’ Camera and Unrivaled. So that’s a start.
Brett Granstaff (who co-wrote the film with Scott Crowell) stars as Chris, who leaves behind a side career in wrestling after an injury in the ring, only to suit up to dispense justice in a sin-ridden Michigan town (actually Hamilton, Ontario).
Will beating people up condemn him to damnation, or is violence forgivable if your heart is in the right place? This is a great question, but the movie doesn’t even pretend to consider it. The Masked Saint is so concerned with satisfying its Christian audience that such minor matters as characterization, logic and tone are secondary to name-checking the Lord two or three times in every scene.
Sonoda is a solid craftsman, and he’s assembled a decent cast, including Hannibal’s Lara Jean Chorostecki, Red Green’s Patrick McKenna and actor/wrestler Roddy Piper in his last screen role.
But they fail to wrestle this script – no pun intended – into something organic and believable.
