MOVIE REVIEW : No Faith, Hope for ‘Ministry of Vengeance’

“Ministry of Vengeance” (citywide) tries to freshen up the macho revenge formula with, of all things, spirituality, but the result is tedious and cynical.

“Dukes of Hazzard’s” John Schneider stars as a minister and Vietnam veteran haunted by wartime nightmares that caused him to turn to religion in the first place. Then his faith is shattered when his wife and daughter are murdered by an Arab terrorist in Rome’s airport. When confronted with State Department indifference, he becomes determined to go to Lebanon and hunt down the killer himself.

Director Peter Maris and the film’s uncredited writer make it clear that the minister has got to redeem his manhood--to expunge his Vietnam guilt--before he can work on restoring his faith. It’s an interesting notion but is left unexplored in the wake of standard action picture ultra-violence and overly familiar CIA paranoia.

Schneider is capable, and Yaphet Kotto is more than that as a State Department official. Ned Beatty plays a fussy, foolish missionary with an unlikely ward (“Purple Rain’s” Apollonia). George Kennedy is Schneider’s fellow minister who tries to persuade him to turn the other cheek, and James Tolkan is the minister’s one-time commanding officer, who gets him back in combat shape. “Ministry of Vengeance” (rated R) is entirely negligible.

‘MINISTRY OF VENGEANCE’

A Motion Picture Corp. of America presentation. Producers Brad Krevoy, Steven Stabler. Director Peter Maris. Camera Mark Morris. Music Scott Roewe. Costumes Terry Dresbach. Film editor Michael Haight. With John Schneider, Ned Beatty, James Tolkan, Apollonia, George Kennedy, Yaphet Kotto.

Running time: 1 hour, 35 minutes.

MPAA-rated: R (under 17 requires accompanying parent or adult guardian).