Surfing the Inner N8

On Saturday, Carolyn and I watched Facing the Giants.  Yeah, I know–what kind of Christian waits so long to see this movie? Oh well.  If it makes you feel better, I did see part of it back in February.

The movie has a really good storyline and some good dialogue.  Unfortunately, much of the acting wasn’t that great.  But if you approach it with the awareness that the movie was made by a church and not by a Hollywood studio, it’s forgivable–it has enough redeeming qualities to make up for it.

There were five aspects of the movie that really made it worth watching, and even re-watching:

(1) It’s a real Christian movie.  Too often, Christians are guilty of getting all hyper about a movie that’s merely acceptable.   We use words like “wholesome” or “family friendly.”  But that’s like getting excited because the new puppy you got for your kids doesn’t bite their heads off–nevermind that it doesn’t actually play with them.  This film, however, is a legitimate Christian movie.  It doesn’t have a “positive” message–it has a Christian message.  And I love that.  The characters pray, read their Bibles, and actually use Jesus’ name–respectfully.

(2) Some unexpected twists in the plot keep the viewer engaged.  There are at least a couple times when I found myself thinking, “Aw man, I thought it was gonna work out!  I guess they’re just trying to keep it ‘realistic.’”  And then a new twist would come, and it would work out after all.  The ending is somewhat predictable, but how the characters get there is not predictable.

(3) The main character actually grows and changes through the film.  This isn’t a Cinderella story.  It’s not bad-stuff-happens-to-good-guy-but-then-good-stuff-happens-instead.  The guy’s not even likable at the beginning of the movie.  Sure, lots of stuff is going wrong.  But stop being so whiny and grumpy!  As God works on the circumstances, however, He also works on the guy’s character.  By the end of the movie, he’s a real hero you find yourself pulling for.

(4) Inspirational moments.  This is one of the movie’s greatest strengths.  Some films just kind of move along and everything works out at the end, but they never really grab you, never really inspire you to anything.  But Facing the Giants has more than its share of inspirational moments; not just “feel good moments,” but scenes that are actually inspiring.  Watch the scene where Brock drags a kid down the football field and you’ll see what I mean.

(5) The Bible turns out to actually hold the missing key.  So often we mistakenly assume that the Bible has answers for spiritual issues, but for “real life,” we need to look elsewhere.  This movie is about football–what in the world could the Bible possibly have to say about that?  Everything, we find out.  I love the way this movie shows that Scripture really is the key to a fulfilling, God-filled life.

Whether you’re a Christian or not, I’d definitely recommend this film in spite of some less-than-stellar acting.  Not all of the acting is bad, by the way.  And its redeeming elements more than make up for what’s lacking.