Faith of Angels

What an amazing true story portraying the way God works in the lives of His faithful believers! As one comes to know him and as one develops a devoted relationship with Him, the Holy Spirit within a believer can lead and direct a believer from within to accomplish God's will! The prompting of the Holy Spirit can lead a Christian believer through feelings, promptings, circumstances, visions, and even through a still small voice. This movie portrays truths that a Christian can experience as they trust the Lord and allow Him to lead their lives! Unbelievers are missing the most wonderful gift that is offered in this life! The truths portrayed in this movie are so very real and true! What a wonderful gift that is offered to every individual as we journey through life!

"Faith of Angels" (2024) is a faith-based film that explores themes of community, faith, and divine intervention. While the story is not groundbreaking, it resonates with those seeking hope and divine intervention.

The plot centers around the disappearance of a young boy in an abandoned mine, with suspense and community prayer driving the narrative. The performances are earnest and moving, but the script lacks the depth to fully explore the characters' psychological landscapes.

Visually, the film is straightforward, with appropriately claustrophobic mine scenes enhancing the tension. The direction maintains a steady pace but lacks creative choices to distinguish it from similar genre entries.

Themes of faith are explored as both personal conviction and communal strength, with a message about the power of collective hope and prayer delivered sincerely. This might appeal to its target audience, but it could feel overdone for viewers outside this demographic.

Soundtrack and cinematography complement the film's mood, effectively evoking emotions during heartwarming moments. The Utah landscape is captured, showcasing both vastness and confined terror.

"Faith of Angels" caters to its audience, offering comfort and inspiration for those who appreciate faith-driven stories. However, it may seem formulaic to a broader audience. While not groundbreaking, it delivers a heartfelt, familiar narrative of hope and divine intervention. Three stars for a solid execution of its genre.

Faith of Angels is an inspiring film based on a moving real-life story. This movie is able to portray realistic sentiment without getting overly sentimental. I was particularly impressed with the performance of Kirby Heyborne, who nailed the emotions of a father in distress. I felt his pain. And John Michael Finley did a great job of portraying a reluctant hero, too. Even though I knew how the general plot was going to turn out, I still got caught up in the emotion of it all and kept wondering what was going to happen next. Faith of Angels is a captivating drama the whole family can watch together.

As a concept this film has all the makings of a hit and I suspect it could have been one with a higher production budget. There's not one element that is consistently bad, but nothing that is consistently good, either. The writing and acting are both good at various moments of the film, but there are more segments with unrealistic cheesy writing and also acting that makes Hallmark look professional.

However, the biggest distraction to viewers is the elements from post-production, mainly the addition of musical or tonal elements to nearly every scene as an attempt to stir the viewer emotionally. It was too intrusive, distracting and unnecessary in at least half the places where it's been added. The Field of Dreams esque whispers were just ridiculous, though.

The film has a worthy message and with some additional editing, could be worthy of a theatrical release. As it stands, I would wait to view it on streaming or other media to have control of the volume when the over the top background accompaniment can be turned down.

Based on the incredible true story of a Joshua Dennis, a young boy lost in an abandoned mine in the 1980's, Faith of Angels reminds us that we are not alone in God's work and that he can do miracles through ordinary people. The storyline is tight, the acting superb, and the cinema experience amazing. Garrett Batty, the director of "The Saratov Approach", and "Out of Liberty", delivers another solid story of faith and redemption. When so much of the world questions God and the need for faith, this story reminds us that he is in the details of all of our lives. Faith of Angels sets a new standard for how faith based films should be made.