A couple of weeks ago, I got to watch Courageous, the latest offering from the Kendrick brothers/Sherwood/Affirm/Provident. This movie will have the return of Alex Kendrick to a leading role. Alex is one of the two brothers (Alex and Stephen) that also brought us "Facing the Giants", "Fireproof", and "Flywheel". It is exciting to see that Sony continues to push these movies out through their "Affirm Films" brand and with at least three releases planned this year, they are showing a growing commitment to produce this genre.
This movie is based around a theme of the importance of fatherhood. We are introduced to some of the challenges of fatherhood through four characters, three police officers and a construction worker. I appreciated the characters, they all seem realistic and each seems to come with their own worts and virtues.
I thought the production qualities of this film were the best of the Sherwood offerings (Soul Surfer probably has the highest "production quality"). The acting seemed much smoother in this movie than the earlier Sherwood movies and the overall story line seemed to flow a little better.
I also appreciated that this movie tried to present a more realistic picture rather than having a complete "hollywood" ending. There were some moments where you thought they could have presented certain characters/story lines in a more positive "wholesome" light than the path they chose, but, I also think that their movie was better for showing us that not everything comes up roses for everyone.
This movie did have some really comical moments, and some very emotional moments too. Some of the humor bordered on cheesy (the "what is your full name" exchange was hilarious). I think the Kendrick's tried to balance the deepness of the emotion with a few light moments, because both are very common in our lives.
Overall, I really liked this movie. The question of "is being a good father" enough is central to our society. Not every father has a perfect beginning, but we make the choices that are our story. It is our story and we alone have the ability to change how that story gets written. The Kendrick's ask us as men and fathers to examine our lives and the families that we are entrusted and blessed with and consider the words of Joshua 24:15: But as for me and my household, we will serve the LORD.
This film will release 30 September.
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