Machine Gun Preacher

I went into this movie with no expectations. The title made it seem like it would be a typical action movie; all guns and brawn and little in the way of storyline but boy was I wrong. This movie, based on a true story, was powerful and touched me so much that it has prompted me to write my first film review on IMDb in over six years! This is a movie with a solid pedigree of cast behind it, it is based on the life of Sam Childers (Gerard Butler), who without giving much away, has a criminal past, finds God and embarks on undertaking missionary work in civil war-torn Sudan, leaving his loyal, loving wife Lynn Childers (Michelle Monaghan) and his young daughter Paige (Madeline Carrol) back home in Penslyvania. This movie follows Sam's juggling how his Christian faith inspires him at home and also in Sudan.

Gerard Butler has always been something of an enigma to me. In my opinion he can be hit and miss as an actor, but in this movie he gives a powerhouse performance as the emotionally conflicted and stunted Sam Cilders, someone who follows his faith and shows simple, sometimes primal humanity in inhumane foreign environments. I think this is Gerard Butlers best performance to date, he expertly immerses himself into Sam , he is so believable in this role, both emotionally, mentally and physically. The audience may find it hard to remember it is just a movie at some stages. Michael Shannon is amazing a Sam's childhood friend Donnie, a troubled soul who is another person loyal to Sam but ultimately flawed.

This is not a movie I feel will get the awards it richly deserves. Similar in tone to Hotel Rwanda, it is an inspiring story but with a sobering message. It reminded me a lot of Hotel Rwanda because it showed how one man alone with enough faith in simple humanity can make a difference. Sam Childers is not a saint; far from it, he is flawed and he has a violent and criminal side and this is evident in the movie. However he is also shown as having humanity and the fact that he decides to make a stand and do something away from the comfort of his armchair in America is testament to his character. Would the audience have the courage to do what Sam did? That is a question facing the audience as they leave the movie, along with the graphic images which will haunt the audience for a long time after seeing the movie.

There are so many powerful moments in this movie that it is hard to pin point any without spoiling the plot. This is not a movie that you should take a date along to; or anyone who is squeamish or unsettled by blood and guts. This is a movie that takes the audience in the palm of their hands and opens their eyes to the blunt reality and the truth of genocide. It is similar in that way to Hotel Rwanda but I found this movie even more graphic and unsettling in many ways. This is a movie you should watch at all costs although you may not want to see it again. It is hard hitting, powerful, emotional but most of all thought provoking.

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.

The movie stars Gerald Butler and his life transformation from a pitiless biker to a church builder avenger.

A lot of criticism of this movie comes from people crying out against white superiority or religious propaganda, in my opinion this movie does neither and anyone that have read books and documentaries about Africa knows that the situation over there does require occidental involvement in any form to help those countries until they can manage their own states by themselves, of course dependency on foreign aid is another issue but let's no get into that.

My problem with the movie that is said to be based on a 'true' story comes from the script itself. I did not believe Gerard Butler's transformation from a ruthless bandit that forces his wife to go back to stripping instead of working in a mall, not saying that this is impossible in real life, but that the way they presented it was lacking realism.

The rest of the movie sends a good message about people implicating in Africa's civil wars, and especially Sudan although the situation has since changed with South Sudan's new sovereign state. A good way to this at home is perhaps to visit and give support to African based groups advocating for a united Africa with real bureaucracies, laws, corruption-free police.

For a movie that talks about Africa The Machine Gun Preacher is less than stellar compared to many others, not because of it's message but because of it's content and I didn't think it portrayed white superiority in any kind and I don't think supporting white Christian churches for their actions in Africa is a bad message anyone saying the contrary should ask themselves what are they doing that those churches aren't.

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.

In Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, the addicted gang biker Sam Childers (Gerard Butler) is released from prison and learns that his wife Lynn Childers (Michelle Monaghan) is no longer a striper and has converted to Christianity. One night, Sam and his best friend Donnie (Michael Shannon) give a ride to a hitchhiker that threatens Donnie with a pocketknife; however Sam reacts and stabs the stranger and dumps him on the road.

Sam is affected by the incident and is convinced by Lynn and his mother Daisy (Kathy Baker) to join their church and he is baptized. Sam finds a straight job in construction. He is well succeeded and when he meets a preacher from Africa, he decides to visit the continent. Sam travels to Northern Uganda and South Sudan many times and builds an orphanage for the victims of the cruel Lord's Resistance Army (LRA). Further, he fights whenever necessary and becomes a legend known as The Machine Gun Preacher.

"Machine Gun Preacher" is a film tailored to Gerard Buttler about the fantastic but unfortunately not well known biography of Sam Childers, an addicted troublemaker drug-dealer biker that changes totally his life and becomes the only hope for thousand of orphans in Africa.

The story and the screenplay are engaging with a perfect combination of drama and action. The only thing that irritates me is douchbags that write that this film like is a Christian propaganda. This is a true story and can be found everywhere in Internet and has nothing to do with propaganda, but reality and redemption. My vote is eight.

Title (Brazil): "Redenção" ("Redemption")