... full of praise for God in place of foul language and biblical quotes in place of deeds. It preaches to the converted -- literally.
7 Comments
09/28/06
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Facing the Giants (2006)
9
%
Tomatometer
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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.
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... [More]
Starring: Alex Kendrick, Jim McBride, James Blackwell, Shannen Fields
Director: Alex Kendrick
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Reviews for Facing the Giants
This time, Jesus rather than Burt Reynolds or The Rock gets the credit for leading an underdog team of football players to victory.
09/29/06
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.
09/29/06
Here's a badly acted movie with a terrific story line that makes it well worth seeing.
11/14/06
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.
09/29/06
Top CriticA sermon much more than it is a movie.
11/10/06
Those looking for an evening's diversion will find it an amateur exercise that has the feel of a film-school project.
09/29/06
Fitfully entertaining… To reach a broader audience, though, the filmmakers will have to scrap their playbook and learn a whole new set of rules.
10/27/06
Earnest but amateurish.
01/30/07
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.
10/04/06
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.
09/29/06
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.
09/29/06
By preaching to the converted so heavy-handedly, the filmmakers fumble an opportunity to reach beyond their target demo of devout churchgoers.
10/02/06
Top CriticFacing the Giants feels like an overly earnest church sketch of the type many evangelical congregations use as a teaching tool on Sunday between the worship music and pastor's message.
09/30/06
Top Critic..more a ministry tool than entertainment, but it is an encouraging development in the ongoing struggle against Hollywood hegemony.
09/29/06
The wholesomeness of the message and the movie's cast make it feel 1950s retro.
09/29/06
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.
08/27/09
Kendrick needs to learn that didacticism isn't a film aesthetic.
09/26/09
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.
11/25/06
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.
10/27/06
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