Far from Perfect, Far from Terrible

A terrific literary drama and character piece that shows how the process of creating art can be seen differently by those doing it and those looking at it from the outside.

A clunky actioner with a handful of cool moments.

The movie really just wants to entertain people.

Sure to completely disappoint those who enjoy watching a movie full of cussing and murder and mayhem and explicit sex and drug and alcohol abuse.But if you love God and long for an uplifting Christian movie that is clean and very inspirational then this is a movie for you.

Perhaps it is appropriate to make a movie in 2006 on faith and $100,000 dollars. It is entirely filmed in Georgia. It is filmed on Faith. It is consistant. It is a sports story that really is cliche, especially in this season.A coach is down on his luck and never seems to get a break. After 6 losing years he appears to be packing his bags to leave. Before season 7 even begins, hwe loses his star player to another team. Then he starts the season with 3 losses. His wife can't get a family started. His car is a rust bucket of bolts on wheels. Then something happens, he finds faith. He believes he can turn things around. He gives in and asks for God's help. Here, years before the sports media makes a huge mistake by not realizing what it means, the coach and his entire team take a knee and pray for God to help (this film recognizing that taking a knee is praying, not protesting). Suddenly, things turn around. Things occur that are truly a miracle. The coach gets a new truck. The team starts winning. Belief starts working miracles. Everything starts to change. Faith begins to prevail. The team makes the state playoffs. Then they lose in the first round. It's not over yet.The coaches wife isn't feeling right, and the team gets a reprive that only faith can provide, and rally it into a state championship. Everyone gets a chance to see the Giants lose, again, though here they are undefeated until they lose. The winner is faith. It does get a little preachy. But it brings a warm feeling to the heart. This kind of story always does.That is the reason to watch this, to root for the miracle. If there were justice and faith, always, life would be so much more. This movie proves what life can be, a miracle. It is the light on "The Other Side." https://youtu.be/vlpvWJEW3ss

After watching Facing the Giants for the first time this weekend, I was blown away. This movie had me on the edge of my seat and with tears in my eyes for some scenes. This movie fulfilled all of my expectations. The characters were very well thought out as well as the setting. The conflict in this movie is very easy to relate to in the real world. The plot grew as the movie went on, on leading me closer to screen to see what happens next. I also enjoyed watching a movie that was very faith-based. There were many moments of Christian fellowship that is not seen often in today's society. It is very kid friendly as well as very enjoyable to adults! This is by far a movie I would recommend to everyone, especially athletes!

It is absolutely heart wrenching and baffling to discover that so many Christian viewers walked away from the film, Facing the Giants, with pessimism and resentment. Looking deeper behind the scenes, Facing the Giants isn't just another inspiring sports story that reveals the athletic achievements of an overwhelming amount of blood, sweat and tears. In fact, this indie picture stretches its $10,000 budget far beyond the million dollar sports blockbusters such as Bend it Like Beckham, Hoosiers, and Remember the Titans, in terms of everlasting impression. The inspiration for this enriching Christian film was developed by two brothers, Stephen and Alex Kendrick, who both work as pastors at their church in Albany, Georgia. Hoping to spread the message of Christ's prevailing grace to both Christians and nonbelievers, members of the Sherwood Baptist Church provided hundreds of volunteers to help in the creation of this movie. Although Facing the Giants isn't a production with big-time actors (or even authentic actors for that matter), the underlying allegorical messages and the unapologetic representation of a real life testimony of God's grace and mercy bring a modern day twist on the historic grandiose of the Christian faith.Facing the Giants shadows the intimate struggles of a man named Grant Taylor who has been the high school football coach of the Shiloh Eagles for six years and has never led his team to a victorious season. Further along in the movie, Taylor simultaneously learns that a group of disgruntled parents is covertly scheming to have him sacked as the head coach and that he and his wife, Brooke, are physical unable to have children of their own. Under these shattering conditions, Grant cannot find anywhere to turn and he cries out to God in hopelessness. After receiving an uplifting and unexpected message, he seeks to discover and implement a deeper devotion for his high school team. Taylor challenges his competitors to believe in the impossible feats God on and off the field. When faced with unbelievable odds, the Eagles must step up to their greatest test of strength and courage. What transpires is a dynamic story of the fight between faith and fear.It is apparent that some Christian critics were hoping for an entirely different movie – one where faith engulfs suffering, even in moments when God makes decisions we may not agree with; which is undeniably an important value in the Christian faith, but this movie wasn't about that. I agree that throughout biblical history, many believers have suffered. God does occasionally use our distress to bring himself glory, but other times He creates unimaginable victories for His followers: the story of David defeating Goliath, a colossal human being, is one that creates the idea that God has the power to do marvelous and unbelievable things, especially for those people who have faith in Him. This is the principle that outlines what this movie truly stands for. The most widely recognized and influential scene throughout the entire movie is one that occurs on the football field after a long practice. One of the main characters, Brock, who struggles with adversity throughout the plot is blindfold by his coach and told to crawl as far as he can with one of his teammates on his back. In what seems to be an unfeasible task, Coach Taylor repeatedly encourages his captain until Brock unmasks himself in the back of the end zone. Although my narrating doesn't do justice to the passion of the event, this almost impossible accomplishment marks the turning point in which faith begins to lead the Shiloh Eagles in a positive direction.However, (contrary to popular belief) this film additionally does make a strong argument for the idea that God doesn't always provide comfort to those who plead to Him. The contrasts of both angles are true throughout the film: sometimes God creates tremendous victories, and other times Gods people have to endure a great amount of suffering. The most important thing to pull from both of these perspectives is that both are intentional means to reveal God's plan for the world. After I walked away from watching this movie I was reminded that God should never be underestimated, because He can do such wonderfully outstanding things through fragile and imperfect people: which if you truly are a Christian, you have come to terms that we can only be made perfect in the light of the Lord.