Faith of Our Fathers

Last year's Fourth of July weekend saw Dinesh D'Souza's "America" gracing American cinemas with its presence, telling us American shame was a byproduct of a false idea of history and questioning where the world would be had American never come into existence. To keep with the tradition of a country that loves making films that simultaneously stroke the nation's ego as well as adhering to the importance of "traditional values," Fourth of July 2015 brings us "Faith of Our Fathers," another link in the chain of abysmal, independent Christian cinema.

What makes "Faith of Our Fathers" bad isn't its flag-waving pride for America as a plea for sentimentality (it doesn't use that device as much as you'd like to believe) but it's commitment to painting the most uneven picture with caricatures for characters and circumstances so incredulous they border the line of science-fiction. We are immediately introduced to John Paul George (yes, that's the name of the character we must take seriously, played by Kevin Downes, who looks like Matt Damon's clone) and his fiancée Cynthia ("Full House"'s Candace Cameron Bure). Any time these two characters are on screen together make for a cringe-worthy bout of joking or fighting, but I digress. John Paul is digging through boxes of his late mother's old things and finds pictures and a flag from his late father's tour of duty in Vietnam. He finds the name "Eddie Adams" in the box of things and decides to look him up in hopes he has information about his father, for he knows depressingly little.

After several dead-end phone calls, he stumbles upon the right man, who lives in the in the backwoods of Mississippi, and makes the effortless flight out to the land to hopefully meet the man who can tell him what happened to his father and how he died. Upon arriving, John Paul meets Wayne Adams (David A.R. White), Eddie's son, a wily, unpredictable loudmouth who allows John Paul to sleep over. John Paul is awoken in the middle of the night by the sound of Wayne chainsawing the roof off of his beloved 1965 Ford Thunderbird, with Wayne stating he'll give John Paul his own father's letters, which reveal things about his father Stephen, if he (a) pays $500 per letter and (b) takes a trip to The Vietnam Wall with him.

What ensues is a terribly contrived, uninteresting bout of roadtrip clichés with shots of John Paul and Wayne's fathers fighting in combat in a group led by Sergeant Mansfield (Stephen Baldwin) interjecting this bumpy ride. The only thing worse than a roadtrip film full of clichés and narrative shortcomings is a roadtrip film that includes both and features two insufferable characters. John Paul's tired old moral soul character is about as empty as it can be and Wayne is a cloying brute who's obnoxiously fake accent and stubborn tendencies make for another character who is immediately unlikable.

As with any contemporary Christian film, the elements of God and Jesus need be mentioned in nearly every scene to some degree but none can be proposed in passing or the subject of a simple, heart-to-heart conversation. "Faith of Our Fathers" has to masquerade in its religious beliefs, etching the names of God and Jesus in dreary monologues that continue to affirm the importance of these figures in a way that makes the speaking character condescend to those who do not believe in such a being. This is the fundamental flaw with most contemporary Christian films - their inability to accept that people can indeed be good and moral without the presence of a supreme being.

Despite four heads (Downes, White, director Carey Scott, and Harold Uhl) working to pen the screenplay, "Faith of Our Fathers" is still burdened by bogus emotional mawkishness, the kind where somber orchestration cues you in on when to shed tears. It gets even more flashy when Si Robertson of TV's "Duck Dynasty" has to show up as the eclectic manager of a gas station, who peddles beef jerky to all of his customers. This is now the second Christian film to use the "Duck Dynasty" cast as cameos (the first being "God's Not Dead") and each time it has resulted in nothing more than sale and obvious pandering that the audiences for these films still has ostensibly not realized because they keep eating it up whenever such cameos occur.

Finally, there's the film's latter act, which is so entirely unbelievable and contrived that it makes some science-fiction films seem probable. It's the kind of "unexpected" reversal that would work really well if it were even a hair realistic or believable, but by then, the film's directors and writers rely on their audience to be baited hook, line, and sinker by the emotional elements that the concluding sequences will simply seem like divine fortune that was meant to be all along. It's a cheap ploy that only worsens an already lackluster film, as we must listen to a sermon about God, his mysterious ways, and how the boys' fathers lived a life that served God and their country, set to uplifting choral music that makes for nothing but overwrought storytelling.

"Faith of Our Fathers" will most likely be prodded by critics but loved by its audience (choir), who will presumably call the film's detractors uptight secularists that can't appreciate a good, moral film. If my opinion on "Faith of Our Fathers" makes me that, then I'd rather be that than someone who buys into the trite on display with this film.

"Faith of our Fathers" is the latest film from Pure Flix (the studio behind "God's Not Dead" and "Do You Believe?) with a message. The story starts off with John Paul George (Kevin Downes) wanting to know more about his father, who died in Vietnam. He finds some letters in the garage about a man named Eddie Adams. He eventually comes face-to-face with Eddie's son, Wayne (David A.R. White). What follows is a road trip where the two men eventually bond and become brothers. Amidst the men's trip, the film also flashes back to the two men's fathers in Vietnam.

There's a little violence during the war-time scenes, but nothing too graphic. There's also no language and no sensual scenes. With this in mind, it's a perfect film to watch with your family. Highly recommended.

10/10

I don't just watch Christian movies so I am giving this review as someone who watches lots of genre's including kids movies. I loved this movie and recommend it for ages 8 and up. Most Americans need to never forget and always remember 2 important facts which were presented in this movie. Freedom is not free. We live with freedom because of the men and women who served and continue to serve to protect our freedoms even with sacrificing time with loved ones especially their children and families and their life. One of our freedoms to worship the one true God and belief in His one and only son Jesus Christ who died on a cross for all people, comes with the same price and we are to share our faith so that everyone can have eternal life. The cast,storyline, producing, along with the comedy, scenery, everything was outstanding. Watching it on the 4th of July was special to me.

This CLEAN (no sex and no nudity) movie is about a couple of guys whose fathers served in the war and now, after years passed, an adult son (John) wants to know more about his father. Consequently, he (Kevin Downes) goes to see Wayne (David A.R. White) to find out whatever he can about his dad. Wayne and John end up going on a road trip together in search of answers. There are scenes where the film goes back to their fathers in the war (NO bloody gore). Stephan Baldwin plays a man called Mansfield and I think Mansfield is their fathers' Sgt, in the war. I can see where the writers were going in this sensitive, moving, and in my opinion SAFE for the whole family. I am a true believer in Christ Jesus, so I am not going to be critical about this movie, like many hardening- hearts that gave this movie a low rating. I am a big supporter of movies written by my brothers in Christ. Note that my 23-year old son used to work at a movie theater and there are lots of children that go to the movies alone (being dropped off by their parents) so in my opinion, this movie is safe for those kids.

Christian films have gotten better over the years but, even though this film boasts a few semi- famous people, it's not good. The script is mediocre and the acting is horrible. David A.R. White (who plays Wayne) is obnoxious and too over-the-top. (White was much better in God's Not Dead) The flashback scenes to the Vietnam War are better than the present day scenes by far. The message might be worthwhile but, unfortunately, the delivery makes it not worth the time, In My Humble Opinion! (Better Christian films: I Can Only Imagine, Heaven Is For Real, Miracles From Heaven, Soul Surfer, Letters To God, A Case For Christ, The Ultimate Gift)