A prueba de fuego

Being a Christian I am still not a fan by any means of Christian movies, I was offered the chance to see an advanced screening of this movie and the only reason why I went was to say that I saw it before anyone else did. I knew it had Kirk Cameron in it so I assumed it was going to be as bad as the Left Behind films. Then I noticed that it was directed and produced by the same people who created Facing The Giants, so I thought there was a chance it would be okay. The opening of the movie was weak and unclear but developed into a rather interesting and touching story. The comic characters were perfect! There was not too much or too little, it was just the right amount. Some of not all of the religious conversations came across as cheesy. To sum it up I went in not expecting anything worth talking about but came out surprised. The following are based on a scale of 1 to 10, 10 being the best.

Acting - 5 Music - 6 Cinematography - 6 Screenplay - 4 Story/Plot - 5 Overall - 5

Here's how this film "imitates life": if you LOOK for flaws, you'll find some, but if you look for blessings, ways to challenge yourself and opportunities to grow, you just may find those, too.

The action sequences are exceptionally well done. A few good laughs are sprinkled in for good measure. Come Oscar time, you won't hear a word about "Fireproof", but come anniversary time, you'll be glad you and your spouse saw it.

This film will not resonate with everyone, especially if you approach it from the mindset that there are no simple truths. But anyone with a less-than-perfect marriage could benefit from seeing it--and that includes all of us, doesn't it!?

Hollywood is great at letting us participate in the victories of those who conquer long odds, whether it's sports movies in which the underdog wins the championship or even movies about unlikely romantic pairings (geek meets beauty) that end happily in, say, a wedding. But we see few movies about the joy we feel in conquering the mundane - like in making a marriage work after both sides have lost the motivation to do so.

This is a movie that shows us how hard it is to revive a near-dead marriage, and why it matters so much. Yes, there is a religious context to the movie. A partner in a healthy marriage, we are shown, struggles to emulate the selfless love and service of Jesus by loving and serving his or her spouse, as Jesus would. But the religious aspects of the movie ought not keep away those who are religion-averse. Selfless love and service as the keys to a joyful marriage are not exclusive to any religion.

A great movie for married couples - very thought provoking.

Making a movie that tackles real life marriage problems head on is challenging, and not always easy to watch. Horror, violence, spoofs, fantasy, love stories, biographies offer easy escapes. Fireproof exposes the isolation that can occur between 2 people who started out loving each other, but over time disconnect, become self-absorbed and fall into a pattern of hurting each other. The relational pain finds some comic relief, and there is a job-related diversion. But help comes in the form of a 40 day dare to love. While you may not agree with the faith-based approach, there is no doubt that unconditional love is transforming. I was deeply moved... enough to take the dare myself.

I just got back from seeing this movie opening night. Of the 300 seats, 100 of them were presold and we were told to get there early. I was excited to hear that so many people were supporting this movie on its opening weekend. It's message will hit close to home with so many people. With the high divorce rate these days, I agree that all people should view this movie. I'm not married myself, but it touched me so much because I saw in it the relationship my parent's have had for years. And while it focuses on the husband changing his ways in order to win back his wife, it also touches on wives changing their ways to win back their husbands. There may be many stereotypes shown in this movie, but that comes with movies trying to touch the world. Without stereotypes, we might not understand it so well.

Overall ratings: Plot - 10, Cinematography - 9, Acting - 6 (due to using only one professional actor, kudos to the church members for holding their own)