The Nativity is set in a post-apocalyptic world as angels and demons battle it out for mankind's future in this feature debut from noted visual effects technician Scott Stewart. More than a little silly, it veers between high camp and supernatural hokum as an overqualified cast gives the portentous, Bible-based action far more conviction than it deserves. There's imposing Paul Bettany as a rogue archangel out to protect the new messiah; Dennis Quaid doing his grizzled best to defend his Paradise Falls desert diner where the showdown takes place; and overtly macho Tyrese Gibson gunning down God's army of minions, including a spider-walking grandma, a possessed ice-cream van man and an evil blond cherub. The mock serious tone helps raise the entertainment value enormously, but when the archangel Gabriel (Kevin Durand) turns up with bulletproof wings and a bladed mace, this overblown Constantine meets The Terminator becomes formulaic and far less fun.

When God loses faith in humankind, he sends his legion of angels to bring on the Apocalypse. Humanity's only hope for survival lies in a group of strangers trapped in an out-of-the-way, desert diner with the Archangel Michael.