Facing the Giants (2006)

I saw a preview showing of this movie about a year ago. I am thrilled to see it is coming out. The story is an excellent story of life, as portrayed by a football coach and his team. Viewers will see a man come to grips with the problems of his life and inspire a football team that has lost its inspiration. Add to that great football action and excitement, and this is a movie to tell your friends about.

I happen to be a person of faith, thus when I see the movie I smile because I know exactly why this story is believable. When you see it, you will undoubtedly enjoy the story, and who knows maybe you also will smile!

Fmovies: I'm a Film Critic/Media Specialist. I review hundreds of films each year. It is often very disheartening to witness ALL the junk that is produced. This is the first film, since "October Sky", that touched the full range of human emotions. I left the theater inspired and uplifted. I would like to encourage everyone to see this film. This is a truly GREAT family film. You can take your children with NO apology. If you have been waiting for film that is SO good....you can even take your grandparents and not blush....this is it!. "Facing the Giants" is a GREAT sports film. The same crew that brought "Friday Night Lights" to the big screen...also filmed the action in this one. "Facing the Giants" is a GREAT film to encourage couples that may be struggling in their relationships. It will inspire today's youth to give their BEST in everything. I loved the layers of LIFE lessons throughout this picture. The sound track was excellent. I admire the courage and the quality of a film on such a small budget.

It's interesting how 90% of the high-vote reviews are all comprised of "*random username*" from "United States" (no state pride??) who all say more or less the exact same thing with the exact same grammatical style and all with the exact same complete lack of taste in movies. I would delve further into this suspicious trend, but alas, this is a review of the movie, and not the reviews themselves.

Let me start by saying that I am both a Christian and a true avid movie fan. This means I have seen a great many movies, from good to bad, and can wholeheartedly claim that Facing The Giants is, in fact, NOT a good movie. It has good intentions, but fails to meet many (if any) basic standards that I associate with a quality filmgoing experience.

The Acting: Mostly Terrible, Palatable At Best. Hearing that most were apparently volunteers does not at all surprise me.

The Dialogue: Clumsy, cheesy, the script comes off as a long version of some cheesy skit you'd see performed in Sunday School or youth group function. The Rave Review Robots revel in the absence of "meaningless words", but the cold hard truth is that such words are a part of the real world, and the complete absence of it is palpable. Let's just say the mean ol' head coach of a team in a State Championship game would have a lot more to say than "OH NO!" when things are not going his way.

The Plot: Mind-bogglingly predictable. It has been commented that this movie is "not a Hollywood cliché", and yet it's like it was pulled directly from Making An Underdog Sports Movie For Dummies (including the mandatory quasi-romantic subplot for the ladies) and just had a Christian-themed coat of paint slapped on it. I'm not lying or bragging when I say I had almost every major detail in both the plot and subplot pegged immediately upon their inception. Only someone who has never seen a decent sports movie in their whole life would be emotionally stirred by the story presented here.

The Directing/Editing: It, too, was patterned almost exactly after the generic Underdog Sports Movie template. Still, acting aside, there weren't many noticeable goofs, so at least Facing The Giants was technically competent.

The Message: Ask Jesus and He will grant all your wishes. Part of me hoped that this movie would end in the team's eventual defeat to really emphasize the whole "If we lose, we praise You" part, because in the Real World, you WILL fail at one point or another and it's good to be prepared for that. But in the world of Facing The Giants, if you fail, clearly someone either screwed up or is cheating. Another interesting question being, what if the Eagles came across another team that had gotten religion? Would they be caught in an endless loop of miraculous plays and last-minute saves, or would the universe simply have exploded?

The Bottom Line: For the hardcore conservative Christian Parents crowd lamenting the evils of Hollywood, Facing The Giants will be another mediocre-at-best Christian film to hold up on a pedestal as the preferred model for modern film-making. For everyone else, the effects will range from boredom to a burning desire to be watching something else. And a warning: Any attempt to show this to non-Christians will lead not to conversion, but to derision. I give this two stars, one for the one scene that did not have me rolling my eyes, and another for basic technical proficiency on a low budget.

Facing the Giants fmovies. This movie touched every emotion: joy, sadness, anger, confusion, peace, humor...but most of all HOPE that is found in Christ alone! People in the theater interrupted the movie with applause, MUCH laughter and most cried at some point! An incredible and exhilarating story of hope! It is incredible to realize that this first-class movie that is so well-done was birthed and produced by a church in south Georgia!! If you know someone who is struggling against the giants we face in life, or a couple who is struggling to make ends meet, or struggling to have a child, or just someone who needs to be encouraged, GET THEM TO THIS MOVIE! We need MORE movies like this! Buy some tickets and give them away...you can affect a life or a family FOREVER!!! My church has committed to buy 1,000 tickets! We are GIVING FREE tickets to every varsity football player and coach in our area! I challenge others to do the same in YOUR area. Spread the word! This film is a MUST-SEE!

Well, this movie was a shock to see and to hear. Among the thousands of mainline films I have watched over many years, this is the first I've seen with a modern-day story that was unapologetically Christian. It actually used Jesus and God's name as you would hear in a sermon in church. Of course, the fact that "Hollywood" didn't make this film is understandable; it was produced, directed, written, etc., by a Baptist church in Georgia.

But - surprise - it's available in good quantities at the video stores and actually has the production values of a big-budget Hollywood film. In other words, this looks nice and, for the most part, is adequately acted even though amateurs do the acting. The only one I thought sounded wooden, unfortunately, was Alex Kendrick playing the main character: coach Grant Taylor, the Shiloh Christian High School football coach. Kendrik directed and wrote this film, so kudos to him for all that wonderful work....but an actor, he ain't. Real-life University of Georgia football coach Mark Richt makes a guest appearance and he sounded very relaxed and convincing, as a professional actor would sound. They should have given Richt the main role!

Yes, the story is hokey, especially at the end at the last football game, but what Hollywood movie isn't? It's just a little far-fetched to anyone who knows football. At any rate, the action scenes were well-done and very realistic looking.

To see a movie with this many inspirational and profound Biblical statements was a "revelation" and really nice to see (hear). Hokey or not, there are several moments in this film that should drive most viewers to tears. If not, check your pulse.

The main message of the movie: "All things are possible with God," is a good one and one everyone, including Christians, need to be reminded of periodically. Secular people who don't want to hear anything positive about God or the Bible, or who are just plain biased against Christians, will hate this film and wouldn't last 30 minutes watching it. I have a very good friend who is in that category and I couldn't recommend the film to him, because he'd be in the bathroom puking his guts out after a half hour. However, if you are more tolerant, or are a follower Of Jesus Christ, then you will find this film inspiring and emotional and worth your time.

I was invited to preview this movie and took my family with me. Even my youngest son, who is 4, came home reciting the message of the film. If a four year old gets it, I am thrilled to think of how many lives could be changed by going to see it. My children laughed at me because I cried like a baby. It evoked so many different emotions! It has been a long time since a movie has touched me like "Facing the Giants" did. The message was awesome and what was more amazing were the non-paid "servants" that starred in this film. This movie has the ability to make an amazing impact in this world. To God be the glory!!! I have been telling everyone to go see this movie, you will not regret it.