Monumental: In Search of America's National Treasure

Not watered down and no sensationalism or conspiracies here! Just the raw, honest, historic truth of the birth of our nation and it's Christian foundation! Proof you can't deny....LOVE!

This is one of the most enlightening movies about the American pilgrims, that has ever been filmed. There are discoveries in this movie which will assist Americans with understanding who they are and what their country is founded upon. The film addresses the hardships Americas forefathers endured in order to make it to America. No other documentary about America has ever delved into this much detail concerning its forefathers and their historical past. Those of you who want to know the foundations of America could not pick a better movie to watch and a better foundation for your further research, than this film "Monumental". Every school child in America should be introduced to this film. This film takes you on an exciting journey, and opens your eyes to the history of America's forefathers, what they experienced, what they had to contend with, and how they finally endured the hardships and made it successfully to the shores of what is now Massachusetts. It winds through many countries as well as some states within America, covering some specific history and documentation and finally takes you back to Massachusetts and introduces you to one of the most historical Monuments in America, and one to which most Americans are unaware.

First off, kudos to Kirk Cameron for speaking truth into the culture at its time of need. I was eager to see this, but waited long after its DVD release before getting around to view it. Unfortunately I found it largely a waste of time.

The film is Cameron's look into America's past to answer the crises that face America today. He finds the answers, but the journey is simply not that interesting. He goes to England, Holland, and Massachusetts to learn about the Pilgrims. There's not much new material here for anyone that knows much about the Pilgrims. There are a few anecdotes that are interesting, but the bulk of it is slow and plodding.

Cameron speaks with a few authorities on history and Christianity, but few are given much time to say anything of any real insight. If you're a Bible-believing, church-attending Christian, you should already know pretty much everything in this movie. If you don't, you need to find a new church.

The content is good, but it is grade-school material. This movie may be a good introduction to the Pilgrims and American history for an elementary-age child, but it is remedial for adults and simply put a waste of time for them.

I was greatly disappointed with this film. I would avoid this one. You're much better off reading a good book or going to bed early.

Did you know that our U.S. Congress paid to produce Bibles and put them in homes. HARVARD's motto was "Christ and Truth." And on and on with FACTS from historians that we've never heard before. Remember a certain president saying "America is not a Christian nation" and idiots saying our country was found on religious freedom and not the Bible. That the founders were against Christianity and its tenants. Well, half of them were ordained ministers, so ... the liberals that are spreading the lies are WRONG. Why has this movie been out for two years and gotten great reviews and is not on NETFLIX? I've requested it four times in the last four years. Interesting. Watch this movie and learn. A great movie.

My rating of 3 stars represents an average of zero stars as a documentary, and 6 stars as propaganda. As a documentary, the film relies largely on opinions and when it does present actual historical events, it tends to spuriously shoehorn god into those events. It makes for decent propaganda but is largely preaching to the choir, which doesn't include me. I was left unconverted.

While I think Kirk Cameron is well-meaning, I also think he is misguided. Using the Puritans as an example of strong morals and religious tolerance is problematic. The strict piety of the Puritans was borderline Taliban-esque, and they were all for religious tolerance as long as it included only their religion. The documentary fails to mention that part of the reason the Puritans left Holland was because they felt the Dutch were too tolerant, and had difficulty co-existing with Jewish people. However, this is a bit of a digression.

The film uses questionable and biased sources. The highlights are Todd "legitimate rape" Akin and David Barton, author of The Jefferson Lies, "the least credible book in print," according the the History News Network. Note that The Jefferson Lies is no longer in print, as the publisher withdrew the book citing lack of confidence in the book's details. Also heavily featured is one of the co-writers, "Dr." Marshall Foster, who serves as the film's historian. Foster's "doctorate" is not in history, but in Divinity. As a side note, I do consider a D.Div to be a legitimate degree, but not when it comes from Cathedral Bible College as his does, which as far as I can tell is an unaccredited degree mill.

The production quality of the film is competent, but not spectacular.