Rating: Score: 8.7/10
Grade: A
Family-Friendliness Scale: Level 3 (OK)
Kids ages 11+
Honor begins at home.
In the film, four police officers, Adam, Nathan, David, and Shane (played by Alex Kendrick, Ken Bevel, Ben Davies, and Kevin Downes) are trying to track down some master criminals wanted for being drug dealers. But, at the same time, they are struggling to spend time with their families/or kids. But when Adam's 9-year old daughter is killed in an accident, he realizes he must turn to God for help. Adam writes a resolution based on Scripture, and all the fathers re-dedicate themselves to God as fathers and all become closer to their families, as well as inspiring many other fathers to do the same.
Positive Notes
Courageous largely focuses on the verse Joshua 24:15, "Choose you this day whom you will serve, but as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord". One of the best parts of the movie was when Nathan witnessed to David about Christ, referencing him as the "judge we will all face, but he paid the punishment we deserved". Also, a strong message about relying on God to help you get through a tough time rings throughout the film, especially with Javier and his family. Strong morals in bravery, self-sacrifice, and fatherhood also show up. Adam also learns to let go of his daughter after doing his half of the dance she had wanted him to dance with her.
Like recent faith-based dramas such as Dolphin Tale, Soul Surfer, and Secretariat, this film has its' share of emotional moments. With the death of Adam's daughter, it carries off into a string of emotional scenes that Adam, his wife Victoria, and his son Dylan go through a long period of grief. One police officer (I won't reveal who) actually is caught taking some of the evidence (drugs) for himself and later emotionally apologizes for lying and his family is in shock (though all we hear is inaudible speaking). Thankfully, the film has a number of hilarious moments that serves as comedy relief during the most dramatic scenes.
Negative Notes
Several scenes of pretty intense violence, but it's almost completely bloodless. A father is seen trying to rescue his baby from a thief who stole his car (the truck later runs into a ditch). A new member of a drug-dealer gang is beaten violently in an initiation test. In the most intense scene, police and criminals shoot guns at one another, and tumble and tackle one another in camera-jostling fashion. Drugs are seen on a number of occasions, with one police officer and a couple of people being seen with bags of them, and there's a couple of discussions about what the dealers are selling. One person briefly talks about sexual immorality (regretfully), and another mentions his father fathered six children from three women. Smoking and drinking are also mentioned in a conversation.
Conclusion
In the eight years that Sherwood Baptist Church has made feature films, their productions have gotten bigger and bigger. From Flywheel to Facing The Giants they made their way to theaters nationwide, but it was Fireproof that surprised the box office industry becoming 2008's top-grossing independent film. All three movies are great faith-based dramas, and as a reviewer and a Christian, I knew that this was a must-see.
As a PG-13 rated film, Sherwood takes a big risk with Courageous by trying to reach a wider audience. This particular flick is much more violent than the studios' previous films. We see people nearly killed, beaten and shot at. A lot of this may turn off a lot of family audiences that would normally go see one of this studio's films.
But on the other hand, Courageous is one of those rare films that completely moved me. It shares several Scripture-based messages that all Christians and even some secular moviegoers will relate to and be inspired by. As for content, compared to the other Sherwood films, one things' for sure, this definitely isn't for young kids. It addresses some mildly mature themes that they won't understand and will be frightened by some of the violence. In other words, quoting the reviewer from Pluggedin.com, the film is more of a benefit to the whole family rather than for the whole family.
