Ring the Bell

On April 28th, 2013, I had the opportunity to attend a screening of this film. It was a church event and I really wanted this film to be good. However, I was disappointed that Christian film makers still fail to live up to their secular counterparts.

Before I begin panning this disaster, I will say that first and foremost, this is a wholly Christian film with a biblical foundation and a clear message of salvation through Jesus. However, this does not necessarily qualify it as a good movie, as so many Christians have been duped to believe.Therefore, I will put my faith aside and judge this movie with the same scale as any other.

The first thing I noticed that went horribly wrong was the script. The entire time I was watching, I was waiting for a plot twist, or a left turn, but this never occurred. The script was overall quite bland and predictable. Also, this movie failed to bring out any emotion in me, though I am certain there are scenes where this should have happened.

Secondly, the acting in every role is overdone to the point that I couldn't take any of the roles seriously. It's so overdone in fact, that I could not empathize with any of the characters. Part of the reason that I couldn't empathize with any of the characters is that they are non relatable and they are all taken to the extreme of their character.

Thirdly, the fact that this is marketed as a sports movie could be considered false advertising. There are approximately 10 minutes of baseball throughout the course of this movie. The longest scenes are " alter calls ", and by the third alter call, I was beginning to lose my mind. This movie is so redundant that it seems like almost every conversation lasting more than a couple minutes ends in an alter call. This is over saturation.

In conclusion, the only positive thing I could accredit to this movie was it's Christian message, and for that, I give it three stars. I would not recommend this to anyone. If you're looking for a faith based movie, try the apostle.

Why oh why can't a Christian made/themed film also be a well done film??? I say this as a Christian. There's nothing wrong with a movie that promotes Christian values - I wish there were more - but why do they have to be either poorly made or so ridiculously over the top that it makes Christians sound like idiots.

It's really tempting to trash the film on all levels from the script to the directing to the acting but I won't do that.

Ironically the best part of the movie - which falsely claims itself to be a sports movie - is about two minutes of pitching. It's believable - the action not the acting/dialogue - and engaging. The flashes to the agent in the crowd are comically bad but the field shots are really good.

That's pretty much it other than the Casting Crowns performance which is great music but feels like a music video inserted into a movie. Not very effective. Frankly the whole film would have better served its intention of promoting Christ by making a Casting Crowns concert movie.

I'm sure everyone was very well intended - hence at least 3 stars - but Ring the Bell is at best a cable access channel movie.

Christianity is wonderful, beautiful, exciting, scary, humbling, powerful, amazing and more. Sadly NONE of that translates into this movie.

One day there will be great Christian movies. Today is not that day . . .

I'm a Christian who loves movies. My favorite movie of all time is Pasolini's The Gospel According To St. Matthew- and I love the Biblical films from the 50s and 60s, The Prince of Egypt, and The Passion of the Christ, to name a few. In fact, I'm 26 and still love VeggieTales.

While movies like these are masterpieces, often when Christians make movies, they are pretty bad. I've already critiqued movies like God's Not Dead, A Matter of Faith, Unplanned, Loving The Bad Man, and the like.

This is sometimes hard to admit- most of my friends are from church, and telling a Christian friend that a religious movie is bad can cause gasps and "but the message is so good!" Well, spreading The Gospel can often be done in much better and entertaining ways. (See my reverse recommendations below.)

Enter movies like Ring The Bell, a movie that I would disappoint others by not liking. I saw this a few days after my sister passed away, and while I was at school for the first time 3 hours away from home. Since it was a Christian film and intended to be uplifting, I told myself that I liked it.

The plot follows a sports agent who wants to recruit a baseball star. The movie hardly has to do with that though. The agent is a non-believer, and in the small town, everyone is a Christian, and they hope that the agent finds Jesus and rings the bell in the middle of town to show a proclamation of faith.

If you've seen a Christian film like God's Not Dead, you know what to expect with this movie. The agent is an atheist, he's a jerk to the Christians, (I think, I haven't seen this in 7 years), everyone has to be a Christian for the movie to have a happy ending, the filmmaking is shoddy, the acting mediocre, etc.

That's all I can really say about this low budget, low quality, and forgettable movie. It's an atheist-bashing sermon, and that's not a movie.

Reverse Recommendations: To see better movies with religious themes apart from Biblical epics, watch movies like: The Apostle, Silence, Hacksaw Ridge, Lilies of the Field, Amazing Grace (with Aretha Franklin), Say Amen Somebody, Billy, Luther, Francis of Assisi, Bruce Almighty, Narnia, Soul Surfer, etc.

Got this from my sister for Christmas and my wife and I really enjoyed it which is why I am reviewing this after one reviewer had very little good to say about this movie.

You cannot compare a movie like this with Hollywood and the budgets they work with. God's simple message of Salvation in Christ does not and should not be about the latest and greatest effects out there. Moses spoke with a speech impediment, the disciples all ran and hid when Jesus was arrested and Peter denied him 3 times. All this to say the movie was made on a shoe string budget but did a good job with what God provided and I really want to stress what God provided. To complain about this by saying it had a good Gospel message but the quality is poor is saying God did not provide the best.

Let's compare this with other Christian movies, some do have a higher quality and some don't but the what does God want. God in my opinion is using this movie. The disciples came to Jesus and said a man had been casting out demons in Jesus name and they told Jesus they told the man to stop, Jesus told them to leave the man alone as he who is with us is not against us.

Forget glitz and glamour, those things kill, but the Gospel is the Power of God unto Salvation.

If you have a hang up on the quality, it may be that you are self centered and this message needs to be reviewed once more.

This is my new FAVORITE faith-based movie! I enjoyed the characters and how they interact. Interesting and likable, but not over-the-top stuffy or prudish as so often Christians have been depicted. Just real, down-home folks. Most of all they portray a wonderful message of values and what's truly important in life, but in a way that feels fresh and fun and a little different than a lot of other faith-based movies that I have seen. Might even make you re-evaluate some of the choices you have made or are going to make in your life. A great movie for the whole family. You'll want to watch it over and over again and share it with friends! (I know I have!)