Review of Facing the Giants (2006) by M W — 01 Jan 2009

The "professional critics" have (as usual) missed the mark on this one: The movie was written for a specific, [i]small[/i] target audience: those that call themselves "Christians" -- whether or not they understand all of the "ins" and "outs" of being one.

I've seen many independent films that were much, much worse in plot, acting, and quality -- yet the critics gushed over them -- simply because the film fit into some politically-correct, cookie-cutter cubbyhole. The fact of the matter is most of these so-called experts aren't objective enough to view a film that displays values contrary to their personal world view and offer any meaningful evaluation of the underlying strengths and weaknesses. Many movie-goers, like myself, enjoy wholesome, kid-friendly films -- as long as Sherwood Pictures continues producing cinema of such high caliber, I'll continue to bring my entire family to watch their movies.

I find it amazing that a niche market independent (Sherwood Pictures) put together a film on a $100,000 budget that grossed +$10,000,000! Furthermore, no one has pointed out that the hostile bias of the critics has had absolutely no bearing on either the initial week at the box office, or recurring revenue streams!

There were no professional actors here (there was one cameo). Most of the cast volunteered their time, wardrobe, and everything else. Even so, the actual quality of the movie far exceeded the vast majority of that put out by most tenth- and twentieth-film independent filmmakers. I give this one a 9.5.