Absolute Dominion (2025), when pitched, sounds like the left-wing equivalent of an evangelical Lionsgate film that’s obviously a money-laundering scheme, but its impressive direction, a great concept, and a more cohesive politic leave you knowing that it could have been more. Directed by Palestinian-American filmmaker and activist Lexi Alexander (Green Street Hooligans; Punisher: War Zone) and produced by Alex Winter (Bill & Ted’s Excellent Adventure; Freaked), the film opens on the classic narrative shortcut of radio and news narration during World War III, which grinds to a halt when a micro-influencer played by Patton Oswalt (Ratatouille; The Secret Life of Walter Mitty) parrots an iconic genre of Reddit post: each faction should put their guy in a ring and let them fight it out instead of going to war. These real-world classic posts are about government, but, in this film, WW3 is started over religious differences, not geopolitical ones. So, 20 years hence, the world will all pretend to believe in the same religion based on who wins a mixed martial arts tournament.
Though this is an initial review for EoM, this home release review will include spoilers for Absolute Dominion in order to specifically address certain narrative elements.
“Even the most tolerant ideology will feel oppressive to those who must give up their culture and traditions.”
Newcomer Désiré Mia leads the film as a 19-year-old warrior who has been trained his entire life by The Institute of Humanism and Science to work his way through a wild card tournament and save the world for religious freedom. He’s genetically modified by his father, played by Winter, and trained by Mario D-Leon (The Smurfs; Premium Rush), who spends the 100-minute runtime using his intense eyes to stellar effect. The rest of the religions in the film are invented, such as “Penticism,” a doomsday-Evangelical derivative taking its name from Pentecost. As Alexander is a former Karate World Champion, the action direction is impeccable, though not in vogue, edited in the rhythm of a fighter’s thought process, not keeping to either trendy long-wide masters or quick cuts. The occasional attempts at humor are not good, as a timely joke about the song “We Don’t Talk About Bruno” lands with a leaden thud, as does a reference to Deadpool as a “vintage thing.” Mia, Winter, D’Leon, and Oswalt are good in the film, but the rest of the cast is wooden and underprepared. The world of the film is thoroughly thought out, but half-realized. And yet, the film holds itself together for the first two acts with the articulation of its theses, which go well beyond the “Reddit atheism” often presented in films like this.
L-R: Désiré Mia as Sagan Bruno and Alex Winter as Dr. Jehuda B. in ABSOLUTE DOMINION. Photo courtesy of Giant Pictures.
The flaw in the theology of the Reddit atheist, or many agnostics who instinctively reject the idea of organized religion whole cloth, is that the controlling nature of religion is not just a tool of subjugation by the powerful, but a symptom of it. Just as resource gathering, work, and relationships become commodified by economic systems, so is faith stripped of its genuine role in life. In one conversation, Winter’s character incorrectly ascribes fear as the source of religion’s power (though the film does not). Fear is the method of commodification. Faith is the pure idea, just as freedom is, as is dignity. Faith arises on its own, as does the rejection of it. Absolute Dominion has two major thematic ideas in play. The first is that a truly humanist approach to governance would allow for religion but strip it of its economic and political power. The second is that the genocide in Palestine and other conflicts in the Middle East are driven by a doomsday theology in Judeo-Christian faiths. As we now bomb Iran to set off World War III because the Evangelical right really, really wants us to, these ideas ring true. But the even greater idea of the film, one that should have arrived within the first 10 minutes, is that, this atheist warrior child, thinks that they can hear the voice of God. Faith is a pure idea, this twist is a very good story idea, and the movie fumbles both as it heads to its conclusion.
“Why would God speak to someone like me…someone who’s not religious?”
“Because that’s what you have in common.”
If distance makes the heart grow fonder, then I’m The Fonz. The twist of Désiré Mia’s character is kept a mystery from the viewer by keeping the character himself a mystery. He is a man talked about, but not to. This malnourished point of view weakens the story as the film’s strong theses encounter the consequences of his actions. Why do people spontaneously worship him as a prophet? Why do they worship any prophet when they already have a god? How many devotees and drivers of a religious organization simply do it for the income? How is religious canon affected by contemporary reinterpretation? These questions arise as the film escalates, then disappear as it ends with a sudden stop. What should have been a twist that brought us into his experience instead pushes the character farther away from the audience to the point where his final actions are inscrutable, and the film ends on a question you have no insight into.
Junes Zahdi as Nizar Haddad in ABSOLUTE DOMINION. Photo courtesy of Giant Pictures.
Absolute Dominion can hold your attention with the clean fights, a great world idea, and the occasionally very good couplet of dialogue. But the biggest takeaway that most viewers will leave with is that it’s an idea so big it should be a seinen anime, like Vinland Saga (2019-2023) or One Punch Man (2015-). In fact, it’s very similar to an anime about the pantheon of gods choosing champions to fight for them, Record of Ragnarök (2017-). The episodic tournament structure, the shallow premise of its inciting incident planting the seeds for deep themes, the multitude of color-coded factions and one-off fighters, the steady B-plot of the atheist who hears god’s voice — it’d be a phenomenal anime. Instead, it’s a sub–par film that impresses thematically more than it does logistically or narratively.
Absolute Dominion Special Features:
- English Subtitles
In theaters and on digital May 9th, 2025.
Available on Blu-ray June 17th, 2025.
For more information, head to the official Giant Pictures Absolute Dominion webpage.
Final Score: 2.5 out of 5.
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Categories: Home Release, Home Video, Recommendation, Reviews, streaming
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