Courageous is a good movie. Not a good Christian movie. Just a good movie, period. And I'm not the type to just jump on the bandwagon of the latest, cheesy, "Christian" fad. But it was solid. I would compare it very much to a good, made-for-television movie. (Which Rachel and I usually like better than the big screen movies.) Maybe the acting isn't always the best. Maybe the plot is a little predictable. Maybe there are no high tech special effects or giant explosions. But it makes you laugh a little, cry a little, surprises you here and there, and after it's over you're glad you watched it. Here are some random thoughts on the movie. Some good. Some bad...
1) It was about 30 minutes too long. It drug a little toward the end.
2) Much like it's predecessor "Fireproof" laid the groundwork for marketing "The Love Dare," this movie has some products it wants to sell as well. (I won't spoil it by telling you what they are.) The only difference is that these products seemed more forced into the plot of this movie than "The Love Dare" was in "Fireproof." I actually thought the not-so-subtle commercials were unfortunate, and hurt the overall quality of the movie a bit.
3) There are some legitimate, blood pumping, action scenes in this movie.
4) There are some very funny scenes in this movie. That's the loudest I've heard people laugh at a movie theater in quite awhile.
5) There were some particularly gutwrenching/sad scenes. Maybe a tad bit of overkill here.
6) Kudos to "Courageous" for following in the footsteps of its predecessors and plainly sharing the Gospel, without being preachy. People will come to Jesus through this film.
7) Again, good movie. Really glad I saw it. But in the Sherwood family of movies, nothing will ever measure up to "Facing the Giants" in my opinion!
