The Masked Saint traces a pastor's unusual ministry

Pastor Chris Whaley could say, “I led three lives,” referring to his days as an athletic superstar, crime-fighting superhero, and minister. The new film The Masked Saint, drawn from Whaley’s autobiography by the same title, offers a somewhat fictionalized account of his life.

Chris Samuels (Brett Granstaff) retires early after a storied professional wrestling career, in which he competed as masked fighter “The Saint.” With his wife, Michelle (Lara Jean Chorostecki), and young daughter, he moves from Tennessee to Michigan, where he assumes the pastorate of a Baptist church in a low-income neighborhood.

He finds his new church in structural disrepair, financial distress, and spiritual decline. The roof leaks, few members tithe, and Judd Lumpkin (Patrick McKenna), the wealthy, egotistical chairman of the church board, has scared off the prior two pastors and half of the parishioners.

Chris and Michelle go door-to-door, meeting church members and inviting neighbors to services. Among others, they meet Miss Edna (Diahann Carroll), the congregation’s wisdom-dispensing encourager, and Mindy (Jen Pogue), whose abusive husband, Ray (Rob deLeeuw), doesn’t allow her to attend church.

Besides addressing internal discord, Chris decides to combat criminal activity in the neighborhood. Donning his wrestling mask, the pastor deals out street justice to local thugs (the film shows only two such incidents), putting an unappreciative police detective (Mykel Shannon Jenkins) hot on his trail. Chris also takes his mask back into the ring, using his appearance fees to pay off the church’s debts.

As the pews swell, so does the pastor’s ego. But Chris’ vigilantism and hectic wrestling schedule bring unwanted consequences, compelling him to re-evaluate his ministry. Still, The Saint must face his longtime nemesis—7-foot, 300-pound The Reaper—in one final “fair fight” cage match. Through thick and thin, Michelle’s support for her husband never wavers.

“You could not embarrass me even if you tried,” she reassures him.

The Masked Saint (rated PG-13 for some violence and thematic elements), best picture winner at the 2015 International Christian Film Festival, boasts a rocking soundtrack, sharp camera work, and generally believable acting. Unfortunately, numerous platitudes crowd the dialogue, which at times even turns cartoonish.

“You’re a saint,” a prostitute tells the masked pastor after he beats up her pimp.

Chris pauses. “No, miss, I’m just a man.” At least viewers get a good laugh when the capeless crusader makes his getaway in a Dodge minivan.

Also distracting are the many subplots, which tangle up the storyline. Judd’s power plays, Ray and Mindy’s journey, the possibly Christian detective’s investigation, the pimp’s retaliations, the congregation’s slow acceptance of a penitent prostitute, a promoter’s (the late “Rowdy” Roddy Piper) connivances, and the wrestling matches force the pastor’s struggling maturation—which should be the film’s focus—to play out in hurried, fragmented scenes. The film simply spreads itself too thin.

But so do many ministers of the gospel. The Masked Saint ought to stir appreciation for pastors who follow God’s call into tough assignments. And whether or not by design, the film unmasks the true saint—the pastor’s wife.