critics consensus

Shoddy filmmaking and a lack of character development derail what could be a potentially compelling tale. Read critic reviews

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End of the Spear Photos

A scene from the film "End of the Spear."

View All Photos (14)

Movie Info

Mincayani (Louie Leonardo), a tribesman in the Ecuadorean rain forest, lives by a violent code: kill or be killed. His world changes after he and his family kill a group of missionaries. Following the massacre, Mincayani and his family abandon violence and embrace their enemies. When the now-grown son (Chad Allen) of one of the slain missionaries returns to learn about his father's death, he becomes part of Mincayani's family.

Rating:

PG-13 (Intense Sequences of Violence)
Genre:

drama
Original Language:

English
Director:

Jim Hanon
Producer:

Bill Ewing, Bart Gavigan, Tom Newman
Writer:

Jim Hanon, Bart Gavigan, Bill Ewing
Release Date (Theaters):

Jan 20, 2006 wide
Release Date (Streaming):

Mar 11, 2017
Box Office (Gross USA):

$11.7M
Runtime:

1h 52m
Production Co:

Every Tribe Entertainment, Toy Gun Films, Bearing Fruit Entertainment

Cast & Crew

Louie Leonardo
Mincayani

Chad Allen
Nate Saint, Steve Saint

Jack Guzman
Kimo

Christina Souza
Dayumae

Chase Ellison
Young Steve Saint

Sean McGowan
Jim Elliot

Show all Cast & Crew

News & Interviews for End of the Spear

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View All

Critic Reviews for End of the Spear

All Critics (54) | Top Critics (18) | Fresh (22) | Rotten (32)

[Director] Hanon seems more interested in exploiting his setting's lush green beauty than exploring the psyches of his bland Bible-thumpers.

November 27, 2006 | Rating: C+ | Full Review…

Nathan Rabin
AV Club
Quote not available.

February 4, 2006 | Rating: 2/5 | Full Review…

Steve Davis
Austin Chronicle
Although the film invests time among the tribesmen, it never really explores the idea that one man's missionary work is another's ideological aggression. And the movie is tentative, dramatically speaking.

January 20, 2006 | Full Review…

Desson Thomson
Washington Post
Too bad this sincere but inept movie doesn't do justice to any of the real people whose powerful story it tells.

January 20, 2006 | Rating: 1/4 | Full Review…

Ruthe Stein
San Francisco Chronicle
This is a movie -- albeit one with a great, gripping story -- shot through with meaningful glances, middling performances and melodramatic music cues. Pity.

January 20, 2006 | Rating: 2/4

Steven Rea
Philadelphia Inquirer
What does hold back this terrifically detailed and often-entertaining effort are the limitations of the script and uneven acting.

January 20, 2006 | Rating: 3/5

Roger Moore
Orlando Sentinel
It focuses more on universal themes of peace, hope, family, and love.

September 7, 2020 | Rating: 3.5/4.0 | Full Review…

Richard Propes
TheIndependentCritic.com
Unmoving story of white missionaries trying to save the poor indigenous people of Ecuador. Paul Chambers, CNN.

March 27, 2010 | Rating: D+ | Full Review…

Paul Chambers
CNNRadio
A squeaky-clean family of missionaries lives out their fantasy of "saving" a violent tribe of Ecuadorian jungle natives in this virulently wrong-headed movie.

April 19, 2009 | Rating: D | Full Review…

Cole Smithey
ColeSmithey.com
Quote not available.

November 20, 2008 | Rating: 2/5 | Full Review…

Kit Bowen
Hollywood.com
Quote not available.

February 17, 2007 | Rating: 4/5 | Full Review…

Vic Holtreman
Screen Rant
Through the harrowing experience of two men as told in End of the Spear -- Steve Saint and Mincaye -- moviegoers can learn the power of forgiveness and reconciliation.

September 22, 2006 | Rating: 3/4

Lisa Ann Cockrel
Christianity Today

View All Critic Reviews (54)

Audience Reviews for End of the Spear

Sep 20, 2010

Well done. Good, and decent movie, if you see it for what it is..a movie about people trying to do good.

Cynthia S Super Reviewer
Aug 13, 2007

<i>Touching movie. Needs more dialouge on the reason/passion behind the gospel. Why people sacrificed their lives. </i> I agree there.

Shahz K Super Reviewer
May 23, 2007

Touching movie. Needs more dialouge on the reason/passion behind the gospel. Why people sacrificed their lives.

Dannielle A Super Reviewer
Nov 07, 2006

I have a hunch that something got lost in the translation from fact to fiction.

William G Super Reviewer