Facing the Giants

There are enough things wrong with this movie that I should rate it a 2 but I love this movie so much I can overlook the flaws very easily. I've seen it so many times I've now lost count. First, what's wrong with this movie.

1.) With the exception of the main character, there are very few women in the picture. Grant Taylor has a wife, there is a teacher and there also is a clinic featuring 2 women but other than that, none of the boys seem to have a mother. Matt has a father as does David but neither boy has a "mom," although David's father does wear a wedding ring. A small point but a mighty one.

2.) The African-American coach is one step above "Steppin Fetchit" or "Amos & Andy." He talks in a rather lazy fashion and seems a little bit slow although he isn't. When he gives David a "unique" way of remembering how to get the ball in between the goal posts or when he keeps up with Larry, his coaching partner, in a game of one-upsmanship of famous names, you see how intelligent he is but for much of the movie, he seems to be a bit of a doofus. In this day and age of political correctness, it's NOT a good idea to portray an African-American character as slow or dim-witted.

3.) Coach Taylor's hair. C'mon, guys, you could have done better with the front of his hair than what we see. It makes the coach look stupid, dorky - kind of like a Jim Carrey character.

Now, what's Right about this movie:

1.) God. There is lots of "God Talk" in this movie and I don't mind. This is a fundamentalist Christian view of God and may seem somewhat simplistic but it works, at least in this movie. Too bad real life isn't that easy (trust God and you'll get what you want). I'm Roman Catholic but I found the "God parts" very inspirational, although somewhat hokey at times. 2.) The acting. While it's not Laurence Olivier in "Hamlet," you really believe Alex Kendrick as Coach Taylor and Shannen Field as Brooke. Some scenes are heartbreaking and others are very funny. But all in all, it's a delightful pairing of 2 obvious believers. 3.) Let's face it, some of those young football players are CUTE, especially David and Zach. Clean-cut, with short hair and decent clothes (David even wears a tie to the final game!) without looking like nerds or geeks. That's refreshing.

All in all, I love this movie. Ii'm not a football fanatic and so I fast-forward some of those scenes. Other readers have pointed out football mistakes; I wouldn't know and I really don't care. To me, this movie isn't so much about football as it is about faith. It would be far worse if the mistakes were in faith instead of football. When I find myself feeling down and this movie is on, I watch it and I'm immediately uplifted. There aren't too many movies that can say that. And I doubt this movie will ever air on network television --- too much religion - GOD FORBID. That's a shame, though, because it's an uplifting, inspiring movie and many young people would benefit from watching it.

It was an awesome movie. I laughed. I cried. I clapped. I cheered. I smiled! At times, I was on the edge of my seat! The message is truly inspirational. Reminds me a lot of "Remember the Titans" but faith-based. The movie stays away from the usual Hollywood hype. It's clean.....no sidetracking on meaningless words, bad language, or other things that detract from the plot or overall movie. They don't shy away from talking about God or praying. It has down-home charm and a feel-good quality. Our family loved it and will go see it again. I recommend it to anyone who wants to be inspired! My kids are already saving to buy it!

The movie was well worth my time. I would encourage anyone who is looking for a good uplifting movie to check this one out. the characters are easy to relate to and the underlying story is very heartwarming. If you are having a bad day, or even if you are having a good day, this would be a great film. I left the movie feeling uplifted and full of hope!! The spirit of the movie is a bit reminiscent of "Pay It Forward". One word of warning, although the film does make you laugh in parts, you will need to bring your own box of tissues. After watching the film, I found out that the film was shot with only 1 camera. I honestly did not notice while watching the movie. everyone should be able to find a part of themselves in at least one of the main characters.

Make no mistake, this is not a polished Hollywood product. All of the actors are novices. The story is neatly packaged, but so what.

The thing that comes out of this film is the people playing the characters are real. I don't mean their performances are necessarily the greatest, but they are real in how they present the material.

There are too few films out there like this that are specifically intended to be for the Christian community. Nothing wrong with that. Films are allowed to imbue the filmmaker's belief's all the time. Funny that is an issue when it comes to Christianity.

Everyone here puts everything they have into this film and it shows. The leads are the better actors, rightfully so, and they bring an air of authenticity to their roles.

For the most part, the games are shot very well. There are instances when the action looks staged, but for the most part it is nicely done. The locations are all authentic south, as well they should be. Everyone has a real southern accent, not overly done Hollywood take on it. The story is not complex and it doesn't take a great sleuth to know all will be right in the end. But then again, that is the intended message; through God all things are possible.

I highly recommend this film to any youth director looking to show a film to their youth.

Facing The Giants is a "feel good" movie. As I type those words, I can't help but think, "OK, I've just alienated at least half the readers from seeing the movie". A "feel good" movie doesn't have to translate to pure sap. Think Rocky more than Steel Magnolias. Although even that comparison is lacking, because similarities between Giants and Rocky or Rudy or for that matter any other "come from behind" sports movies also come up short. One thing is for sure, no one viewing Giants will miss the Christian content, and that difference alone makes the film unique. But that's not the only thing that sets this film apart. The fact that it was made mostly by volunteer amateurs from Albany, Georgia's Sherwood Baptist Church-for $100,000-is a testimony to what people can do when they passionately believe in something. That alone makes this a truly "inspiring" film! The story focuses on Coach Grant Taylor (played by writer, director, and Sherwood associate pastor Alex Kendrick), whose Shiloh Christian Academy football team hasn't had a winning season in six years. After losing a star player to another team, things are looking down for the Shiloh Eagles, and school board members begin to consider showing Taylor the door. The coach is having a bad year for sure. He drives a beat up car, his house smells like something died, and worst of all-he and wife discover they can't have children of their own. The Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA) board that hands out movie ratings says that it was in fact this pregnancy theme that earned Giants it's PG rating. Don't be concerned by this "adult" topic-it's handled very appropriately for the whole family. On the "family" topic: yes you can the kids. My recommendation would be ages 8 and up, only because younger children may be bored with the football and "personal crisis" themes. But there is no sexual content or profanity, and violence is limited to football tackles. By the way, the football action looks great, thanks to one of the paid crew members, cinematographer Bob Scott. He's worked with the amazing NFL films as well as Friday Night Lights and many others. This is a very good film for the family-I actually think that's what this movie was made for. I can see families going out to eat after the movie and discussing some of the themes (trust in God, respecting your parents). If my son was older, I would be taking him to see it for sure. The movie could truly have a positive impact on kids-as opposed to the mindless entertainment they are often subjected to. As the story unfolds, Taylor reaches a breaking point, and decides that all he can do is trust the Lord for guidance. He tells his team, "If we win, we praise him and if we lose we praise him". Most adults won't be too surprised where the films goes after that-however I think kids in the audience will be delighted-and maybe inspired-by the turn of events. Let me go back to the "pure sap" comment for a moment. Some people may think this film is the definition of "sap" as the story progresses. I didn't see it that way. As a Christian, I have seen God turn around impossible situations-so for me, I was thinking "yeah, God can do that". So does Giants show us that when the chips are down, all we have to do is pray and things change immediately? Alex Kendrick talks about this in an interview with Christianity Today: "That's always the first negative comment we get after our test screenings. I'm not a name-it-and-claim-it guy; I think God does allow us to struggle." However I understand where Kendrick is coming from when he goes on to say, "We ended up with our story for two reasons: Number one, we had seen it happen around us. And number two, it's a movie and we wanted people to leave inspired and encouraged." We had seen it happen around us. Giants is a reflection of that. If you're like me, you will "feel good" at the end of the movie. That's not a bad thing! Go see this movie-and take the kids.