I chose to critique this movie because it is in fact different than the rest of the
films you see today. Courageous shows
the viewers more than just a movie or a catchy story- it shows the
importance of family, it models the way Christian men/fathers should live their
lives, and it teaches the lesson of being courageous in this life. I chose this
film because it reflects my beliefs and my values. I saw so much more in this
movie than an awesome story- I saw hope and a new beginning. It creates a new
beginning for those who feel they can’t redeem themselves and have messed up in
their lives, whether it’s a father leaving his family or a father not
cherishing the time spent with his daughter until she is gone. Courageous teaches these men that there
is another way of living, and there is forgiveness for all that they have done
wrong. It shows hope, love, and faith through our Living God.
The director of Courageous is
Alex Kendrick. Alex Kendrick, from Georgia, started working as a Christian DJ
for two radio stations. He then attended the New Orleans Baptist Theological
Seminary, which lead him into ministry. He then served as a minister to college
students for a total of four years, got married and then served as an Associate
Pastor of Media at Sherwood Baptist Church. This led him to founding Sherwood
Pictures where he began writing, producing, acting, and directing films. Kendrick’s
previous work consists of: Love Dare making it to #1 on the New York Times
bestseller list, Flywheel (2003), Facing the Giants (2006), and Fireproof
(2008). Courageous follows four men
with one calling: to serve and protect. All as law enforcement officers, they
face a challenge that none of them are fully prepared to handle: being a
father. Protecting their community is second nature to these men, but striving
to raise their children in a God-honoring way takes them down a courageous
path.Check out more here:
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1630036/
Analysis
Courageous is similar to the
rest of the works by Alex Kendrick, because of its emphasis on the belief
system of Christianity. Courageous withholds many of the same elements as far
as the importance of family, experiencing pain, but through it all growing
closer to God. Courageous stands
different from the rest of Kendrick’s films because its main focus is on being
a father. Primarily being a father that honors and models our Father in Heaven.
All of Kendrick’s films are created to change the perception of movies here in
the mainstream of America. Courageous is most definitely a film
that stands apart from the others. There is talk about its killer plot and it’s
standings on becoming a “must see film”. It is different because it doesn’t consist
of the normal, yet horrible things of this world like- sex, appearance, style,
social standings, etc. It focuses on the deeper and most rich qualities of life
being the best father you can be, keeping your family close, and God high and
lifted up. It’s about the men of this generation stepping up and being the
courageous leaders they are created to be.
Interpretation
This piece may not be a priority in our culture, but should be. Men
today aren’t stepping up to the plate like they should. Too often we see young
fathers abandoning young women and their children- running away from their
problems and parts of life that may be difficult. Most men today are not being
courageous and stepping up when their families and loved one need them most.
This film does nothing but demonstrate and model they type of men that should
be leading their wives and family. Courageous
exemplifies the trend in our culture that is lacking and failing to meet
these standards of Christian men following hard after God. Our culture needs
more men like Adam Mitchell, lead character in the film that starts the change
of responsible and courageous fathers.
The target audience is clearly the young men of today, alerting them and
modeling the type of men, husband, and fathers they are created and expected to
become. There are stereotypes in the film such as: the African American gang members,
the lower class community, the middle/upper class. There are parts of the film
that people could see as offensive, but this movie is bound to raise arguments
with those who don’t believe in Christianity and the existence of God.
Evaluation
The strengths in the film are demonstrations of responsibility, drive,
courage, integrity, strong sense of morals and values. I believe a type of
strength within the film is the acting- it is being performed by the one who
directed, wrote, and produced the film. So therefore, you get a true sense of
reality and natural occurrences. Although I see Kendrick’s acting in the film
as a strength, but I also see a lot of the acting in the film as a weakness.
There were a few actors/actresses that weren’t great and caused a lack of
interest and low quality. I thought on an overall scale that the movie was good
and had more strengths than weaknesses. I believe this is one of the better
pieces of work by Kendrick and raised his usual standards. The acting in the
film, again weak in some areas, but much better than his other film- Fireproof.
This is most definitely a movie to remember. I hear it coming up through
conversation time and time again, and I don’t believe you will stop hearing
about it for a while. Professional critics in the mainstream film producing of
America were not fond of the film. It was something that they say evolves into
over-the-top drama and a suffocating heavy-handedness. They say it raises
pressing questions of religious sagas. In
my opinion, I believe it raises so many of these critiques because when it
comes to displaying facts to the public- the truth hurts and they don’t want to
admit to such behavior.
Top Critics' Reviews from Rotten
Tomatoes
Rotten: Overplotted and understructured,
"Courageous" is a slog to get through at 130 minutes. – Paul Brunick,
New York Times, Oct 2, 2011
Rotten: Devolves into over-the-top drama and a
suffocating heavy-handedness. – Keith Staskiewicz, Entertainment Weekly, Oct 2,
2011
Rotten: The many topics raised - gangs, drugs,
immigration, absentee parents, poverty - are examined with didacticism and
platitudes instead of by mining their inherent complexities. – Gary Goldstein,
Los Angeles Times, Oct 3, 2011
Rotten: Fails to answer the more pressing question
of why religious sagas such as this treat subtlety as a sin. – Nick Schager,
Village Voice, Oct 1, 2011
See more here from rottentomatoes.com---> http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/courageous/
See more here from metacritic.com---> http://www.metacritic.com/movie/courageous
Engage
I have engaged in this subject by researching online. I looked up
information about Alex Kendrick and his background. It helped a lot to know
more about him and his style of work to be able to fully engage in subject
matter of this post. I looked up previous work by Kendrick and compared
previous movies to Courageous. All of
my friends and family love the meaning and stories behind his work. We aren’t afraid
to admit the overall outcome of the movie and that the acting isn’t awesome,
but we do believe the storyline and subject matter is great and highly
important and relevant today. My family loved Courageous and it is now a favorite in our Christian home. We see
it as very inspiring, uplifting, and heart wrenching.
Summary
To conclude, I highly recommend Alex Kendrick’s latest film Courageous. If you are looking to watch
an inspiring, eventful, uplifting, and faith intensive film- this is the one to
watch. It will test your faith, your way of living, and make you question your
view on life and if you are living your life to the fullest of your ability. I
learned not only a lot about being a critic of a film, but I learned a lot about
the background of the film and how it came about. I learned quite a handful
about the director of the film and how he grew as a director, writer, producer,
and actor to create such a master piece.
