Checkmate

Directors who cannot fact check simple things like what is checkmate in scenes, who cannot insist on basic standards don't deserve their movie to be watched.

First off, this is a Christian film. So if you have problems with such films, bag this one. It's less heavy than "Soul Surfer" but the element is still there. I never felt they were preaching to me though. Just tossing it into the salad, so to speak.

I have to admit, I never finished this film. I spent an hour or so on it because I was compelled to see how it all would turn out, and the father was a bit of a mystery. But... The acting was horrible. The dialogue was horrible The staging and sets were horrible. Even the chess, on which the premise of this film is based, was horrible. I would rate it one star except the premise of the film was interesting enough to keep me watching, hoping for a payoff. Maybe one came. I don't know. After an hour, it just wasn't worth the trade to sit through the lousy acting and painful script.

But in the right hands, with a decent cast, director and budget, this film would hold some promise. I would watch it.

As it was, you're going to end up watching some Youth Ministry Group put on a show. They either needed to pray more for some talent or just give Kirk Cameron a call.