His Only Son

I guess I went in to watching this movie with very high expectations from something from Angel Studios, especially after the successful endeavors with The Chosen and the newer movie Sound of Freedom. But soon into this movie you will find yourself doubting why you decided to watch it. I have actually turned it on and off several times as it cannot keep my attention. There are several factors that go into my decision, including poor acting, poor costumes, but most importantly all of the excessive artistic license that is taken in this movie. I know the story of Abram and Sarai very well. And I realize that this biblical story actually points to the coming of our Messiah in Jesus Christ, but Abraham did not realize that at the time and some of the things he says in the movie was never said or at least not given to us in scripture. I'm all for trying to make things more interesting and filling in the gaps, but when you add information as though it was scriptural to do that then I think you're making the wrong steps.

It is easy to get your hopes up for a Christian based movie to make as powerful an impact as the Chosen has.

That said, I love the story, most of the actors are very stiff.

Abraham is far too stoic for a man who hears the voice of God.

The artistic license of the journey to the mountain is somewhat interesting.

The movie does not inspire me to grow closer to God. The sermons I hear from an everyday minister are more inspiring.

I didn't hate the movie because I'm happy that there is still a chance that it touches someone's heart and changes their life.

I am happy to have Christian based content available for my family. My grandchildren were bored in the first ten minutes.

When they watched the Chosen they were glued to the screen.

While is is unfair to compare the two, that is exactly what I find myself doing.

This movie made up elements and left out such important ones. God's covenant with Abraham, God's speaking with and providing for Hagar, the visitation by the Lord and prophecy of Issac's birth in the coming year (when Sarah laughed, giving Issac his name). I would have preferred the story to be told linearly so we could have agonized with Sarah over her infertility, rejoiced at Issac's birth then really felt the gut punch when God tells Abraham to sacrifice his only son. Also I would have liked to have seen more clearly portrayed Abraham's faith in God's promise that Issac would be the seed to generations and therefore God might even resurrect Issac if necessary. (Hebrews 11:17-19). The movie fell short of my expectations, but I'm glad it has spoken to so many. Hopefully the director will consider sticking more closely to scripture in his future endeavors.

It is often said that scripture interprets scripture, but most of us are working with incidental fragments from a rather large book. This writer takes one of the toughest messages and manages to assemble the supporting chapters and events without becoming bogged down, overwhelming the novice or boring the expert. I know the story of Abraham and Sarah quite well, and bought tickets with the idea that I would suffer through a low budget interpretation for a good cause, but it was a great show; I walked away feeling like I met the characters and gained new perspectives on the message. Nice segue into the Gospels, great message for young and old, light on the graphic stuff and excellent for conversation after the film.

This movie was so wonderful to watch, and the acting very well done. I was worried it would be too slow, but it followed the scripture and added, similar to The Chosen, some possible encounters on the three day journey.

Loved the way Jesus was a parallel to Abraham's story.

God's only son was perfect. The old testament characters were not, but God used them and kept His promises. I hope more movies like this will be made.

Be sure to read Genesis and talk to friends about the references in the New Testament that lead back to the old. God is still the same today, and seeing this movie is worth your time.