Machine Gun Preacher

When a movie title sounds as corny as "Machine Gun Preacher", you would expect it to be another mindless action movie. Thinking the same, I recently watched this on a lazy afternoon with no good expectations whatsoever. Not half way through the movie and I was highly mistaken for underestimating this film. Somewhere between what I expected and what I experienced, is a fierce narration of human rights abuse that the 'free world' has chosen to ignore, just because it can be ignored.

Soon after his release from the Pennsylvania Department of Corrections, Sam Childers (Gerard Butler) goes on a drug and alcohol fuelled rampage of violence. After a vicious attack on a drifter, Sam attends a church service with his wife Lynn (Michelle Monaghan) and comes home a changed man. Call it an epiphany- from a hardened biker outlaw, Sam is suddenly a model Christian and a respectable member of society. This is when he volunteers as a missionary to Uganda. What he finds there changes his life and opens his eyes to the atrocities of war-torn Southern Sudan. Armed with the Bible in one hand and an assault rifle in the other, Sam becomes a legend overnight but soon finds himself reverting to his former self when faced with mounting pressure and dwindling resources in saving Sudanese children from the evil clutches of the Lord's Resistance Army (LRA).

As clichéd as it sounds, the context here – about a criminal who finds God, then goes on a crusade against child abduction and human genocide – seems contrived and done before. However, googling 'Sam Childers' will not only yield over two million links, it will throw light on one of the greatest atrocities involving under aged children. In fact, I highly recommend the 30 minute YouTube video titled "Invisible Children" as a mood setter, before watching "Machine Gun Preacher". If you are man enough to sit through this movie without as much as batting an eyelid, I dare you to not shed a tear as the end credits go up. Through monochromatic short takes, we are not only introduced to the real Sam Childers, we get to see the real victims; barely 10 year olds, whose crayon sketches are so shocking that it forms a stark contrast to their counterparts in other parts of the free world.

Acclaimed director of "Monster's Ball" and "The Kite Runner", Marc Forster fuses Sam Childers' memoirs of Another Man's War with Jason Keller's screenplay into this remarkable, not-to-be-missed movie. Forster's forte is in making an action-drama with a heart wrenching aftertaste, a unique feat not many directors have achieved since Mel Gibson's "Braveheart" or even Kevin Macdonald's "Last King of Scotland". What makes this movie all the more compelling is that every bit of it is true. On the other hand, there isn't much the audience can do except wallow in pity. Or is there? If one man, just one man, can fight for the lives of innocent children thousands of miles from the comfort and safety of his home, then Forster's true success is in allowing the audience to judge for themselves, whether looking the other way is the humane thing to do. Childers' arch nemesis and leader of the LRA, Joseph Kony, is never really shown in the movie, and deservingly so. In comparison, googling 'Joseph Kony' will yield just about 300,000 links. Evidently, Forster has given prime importance to Childers' heroics and in the process, vindicates our hero's gung-ho yet controversial modus operandi. If you think about it, war machines are scattered all over the planet in the defense of "peace", so why shouldn't one man shoot to kill, even if it costs 100 bullets to save the life of one abducted child?

Before I get to my 'must-see' conclusion, let me also add that Gerard Butler may not be half the man Sam Childers appears to be, but as the protagonist, Butler returns to form with the same intensity last seen in his portrayal as King Leonidas in "300". There is a connection between both these characters and Butler skillfully drives the message that freedom is a God given right and no human being should ever have to live or die in captivity. With lesser screen time but in easily her best role so far, Michelle Monaghan smolders as a brunette. Her captivating looks aside, Monaghan plays her part to perfection as Childers' wife and sole impetus when the going becomes relentlessly tough. Also worth mentioning are Michael Shannon as Childers' friend in Pennsylvania and Souleymane Savane as his trusted aid in Uganda.

Now, did I mention this is a must-see movie? You can either choose to watch it or not. Considering the butterfly effect, if you do watch this movie, there is a slim possibility that another child under Childers' care will receive a morsel of food.

"Machine Gun Preacher" is an inspirational melodrama directed by Marc Forster and starring Gerard Butler, Michelle Monaghan and Michael Shannon. This film is based on the true story of Sam Childers a former gang biker who finds god, becomes a pastor and has dedicated his life and all his resources ever since to rescuing and protecting orphans in Sudan, Africa. Childers founded Angles of East Africa an orphanage located in South Sudan.

Marc Forster has under his belt an impressive resume with films like Quantum of Solace, The Kite Runner, Finding Neverland and Monster's Ball.

Reviewing this film has been very complicated because of its subject matter. The movie has a strong religious subject, addresses the civil conflict and severity of the crisis in Sudan, ideals, hypocrisy and religious fanaticism. This film will divide Christian audiences because of the redemptive arc of the tale.

This is one of those movies that will provoke both sympathy and aversion. Sam Childers (Butler) is not an ordinary preacher; he carries a machine gun and kills LRA rebels in self-defense looking at it as helping God's children. Sam had a troubled life, was a gang member, drug dealer, junkie, married a stripper, but his life dramatically changes around when he finds god or god finds him, as he states in the movie. He claims to be a soldier fighting for freedom and becomes a member of the SPLA (Sudan People's Liberation Army).

Mark Foster does a good job bringing such a complex and controversial story to the big screen utilizing his well-known visual skills. This movie has a lot of graphic and violent scenes, showing the horror caused by a civil war, torture, savage murders, and how entire villages are destroyed.

MPAA rating: R Runtime: 2:03 mins Production Co: Relativity Media, Virgin Produced, Apparatus Productions

MGP is a terrific plot, that is a good watch in some respects - the story is earnest, necessary, and vital - but the delivery is way too melodramatic - it's kind of preachy in a revival sense, and we get little or no real maturity - it opts instead for action and heightened emotions at every step.

The plot of the true story of Sam Childers, the ex-biker criminal and,frankly, low-life, who finds Jesus and then Africa is gripping in so many ways - but with a full throttled approach at every step we're not really getting insights to the real man, we just the highlights, and that's pretty crude film- making.

I wouldn't want to put people off watching this - it tries to highlight earnestly the horrific mess that Sudan is in - but it does so as an all out action film and that really doesn't do more than entertain - and that's the biggest fault of all.

"If your child is abducted by a terrorist and you want me to find him and bring him home then does it matter to you how I do it?"

• Sam Childers. He was a hillbilly drug addict, an ex-con who comes out of prison and finds his 'calling'. He then builds a church in his town and goes to Sudan to build homes and later an orphanage for the LRA victims. LRA - Lord's Resistance Army and its leader Joseph Kony the most notorious and evil warlord terrorized both the northern Uganda and southern Sudan for more than 3 decades. The pillaging LRA mutilated and killed almost half a million civilians and abducted over 60,000 children and tortured them, raped, sold them in sex slavery and forced them to kill people. Where was GOD!!

Based on Sam Childers' autobiography. At times it feels like a hagiography but Gerald Butler delivers an intense performance. A nice mashup but somewhat stays on surface. A self righteous savior with machine gun seems somewhat indiscernible. However, it gives a vivid picture of the horrific events took place in Sudan. A good watch.

The interesting observation after viewing this film at the historic Mayan Theater in downtown Denver was that every female was crying by the end and the men were poker-faced. Also of interest is that the negative reviews, which are often unnecessarily unkind to Gerard Butler, and unhelpful to the reader, often seem to have been posted by males. Sure, women around the world are crazy about Gerard Butler, but come on, this was an astounding performance about the life of an awe-inspiring man. If you didn't like the film, walked out, or wanted to punch Mr. Butler in the face, then donate the cost of your ticket to Angels of East Africa. My final comment is that Mr. Butler produced this film because it wouldn't have been made otherwise. This is a story that had to be told and he didn't accept his normal fee for his performance; in fact, although I obviously can't confirm it, I heard that he accepted a fraction of a fraction of his normal fee.