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Movies / On DVD / Facing the Giants
Facing the Giants

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Facing the Giants (2006)

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Reviews Counted:23

Fresh:2

Rotten:21

Average Rating:4.1/10

Consensus: The tropes of both football and evangelical movies are gracelessly on parade in this banal, insipid drama.

Rated: PG [See Full Rating] for some thematic elements.

Runtime: 1 hr 52 mins

Genre: Dramas

Theatrical Release:Sep 29, 2006 Limited

Box Office: $10,127,352

Synopsis: A high school football coach (played by actor/director Alex Kendrick) uses some unorthodox methods to motivate his team in FACING THE GIANTS. A devoted Christian, the coach turns to God for... A high school football coach (played by actor/director Alex Kendrick) uses some unorthodox methods to motivate his team in FACING THE GIANTS. A devoted Christian, the coach turns to God for inspiration, with amazing results. [More]

Starring: Alex Kendrick, Jim McBride, James Blackwell, Shannen Fields

Starring: Alex Kendrick, Jim McBride, James Blackwell, Shannen Fields, Tracy Goode

Director: Alex Kendrick

Director: Alex Kendrick
Studio: Samuel Goldwyn Films

[See More Credits]

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Release:

Jan 30, 2007

No Details Exist
 
 

Reviews for Facing the Giants

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1 - 20 (sorted by fresh rating)
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Here's a badly acted movie with a terrific story line that makes it well worth seeing.

Full Review Source: Quad City Times (Davenport, IA) | comment 1 Comment
11/14/06
Linda Cook
Linda Cook
Quad City Times (Davenport, IA)

..more a ministry tool than entertainment, but it is an encouraging development in the ongoing struggle against Hollywood hegemony.

Full Review Source: Arkansas Democrat-Gazette | comment 2 Comments
09/29/06
Philip Martin
Philip Martin
Arkansas Democrat-Gazette

Facing the Giants falls victim to the tell-don't-show brand of filmmaking, in which every character always says exactly what he's feeling and every time a character's flaws are pointed out to him, they are immediately corrected.

Full Review Source: St. Paul Pioneer Press | comment 2 Comments
09/29/06
Chris Hewitt (St. Paul)
Chris Hewitt (St. Paul)
St. Paul Pioneer Press

Would seem sincere enough, but it's just a chain of ludicrous cliches of both the sports and religious variety.

Full Review Source: One Guy's Opinion | comment 3 Comments
10/08/06
Frank Swietek
Frank Swietek
One Guy's Opinion

Kendrick needs to learn that didacticism isn't a film aesthetic.

Full Review Source: DVDTown.com | comment Comment
09/26/09
James Plath
James Plath
DVDTown.com

Most of the actors read their lines earnestly but flatly, and Kendrick has done them no favors by pushing them to play broad comedy in some scenes and anguished drama in others.

Full Review Source: Kalamazoo Gazette | comment Comment
10/27/06
James Sanford
James Sanford
Kalamazoo Gazette

The religious proselytizing in this football movie is about as subtle as a blindside hit by a 300-pound defensive end.

Full Review Source: Minneapolis Star Tribune | comment 5 Comments
09/28/06
Jeff Strickler
Jeff Strickler
Minneapolis Star Tribune

In a season in which Invincible and Gridiron Gang already have laid claim to the title of inspirational football movie, this looks like an also-ran.

Full Review Source: Deseret News, Salt Lake City | comment 2 Comments
12/15/06
Jeff Vice
Jeff Vice
Deseret News, Salt Lake City

By preaching to the converted so heavy-handedly, the filmmakers fumble an opportunity to reach beyond their target demo of devout churchgoers.

Full Review Source: Variety | comment 4 Comments
10/02/06
Joe Leydon
Joe Leydon
Variety
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

This time, Jesus rather than Burt Reynolds or The Rock gets the credit for leading an underdog team of football players to victory.

Full Review Source: Commercial Appeal (Memphis, TN) | comment 4 Comments
09/29/06
John Beifuss
John Beifuss
Commercial Appeal (Memphis, TN)

When a film is as unintentionally corny as this one, it's anyone's guess as to how many viewers can stomach all the schmaltz for the positive message at the end.

Full Review Source: Christianity Today | comment 2 Comments
09/29/06
Josh Hurst
Josh Hurst
Christianity Today

Its feel-good storyline, shopworn message, and bottomless sermonizing would have played better in Sunday school than on the big screen, which is -- let’s face it -- Babylon’s turf.

Full Review Source: Austin Chronicle | comment 2 Comments
11/25/06
Josh Rosenblatt
Josh Rosenblatt
Austin Chronicle

For it to have any appeal for persons who do not share the movie's beliefs would indeed be miraculous -- it's appallingly bad as anything other than a sermon.

Full Review Source: Mountain Xpress (Asheville, NC) | comment 7 Comments
10/04/06
Ken Hanke
Ken Hanke
Mountain Xpress (Asheville, NC)

A sermon much more than it is a movie.

Full Review Source: Milwaukee Journal Sentinel | comment 2 Comments
11/10/06
Paul Doro
Paul Doro
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

Earnest but amateurish.

Full Review Source: EDGE Boston | comment 2 Comments
01/30/07
Phil Hall
Phil Hall
EDGE Boston

The separation of church and cinema amounts to a long yard at most in this high school football sermon from Georgia-based Baptist pastor Alex Kendrick.

Full Review Source: City Pages, Minneapolis/St. Paul | comment Comment
08/27/09
Rob Nelson
Rob Nelson
City Pages, Minneapolis/St. Paul

I'm not about to argue with the message, but the delivery system sinks below the level of after-school special, and the acting matches.

Full Review Source: Denver Rocky Mountain News | comment 2 Comments
09/29/06
Robert Denerstein
Robert Denerstein
Denver Rocky Mountain News
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

If it cannot avoid the clichés of both the sports film and the inspirational film, at least Facing the Giants leavens its message with good humor.

Full Review Source: Kansas City Star | comment 1 Comment
09/29/06
Robert W. Butler
Robert W. Butler
Kansas City Star

The wholesomeness of the message and the movie's cast make it feel 1950s retro.

Full Review Source: Orlando Sentinel | comment 2 Comments
09/29/06
Roger Moore
Roger Moore
Orlando Sentinel

... full of praise for God in place of foul language and biblical quotes in place of deeds. It preaches to the converted -- literally.

Full Review Source: Seattle Post-Intelligencer | comment 7 Comments
09/28/06
Sean Axmaker
Sean Axmaker
Seattle Post-Intelligencer
 
 
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