Although it has been out for quite a while now, there are a lot of people out there who have never seen the movie Facing the Giants. Some people may have avoided it because of the low budget. For others, it’s the “Christian” tag. Still others have never even heard of it (because of that whole low budget thing.)
I first saw Facing the Giants only after repeatedly hearing from friends and family how great it was. High expectations can ruin a good-but-not-great film, and twenty minutes into the movie I was about ready to shut it off because of the weak acting, contrived plot, and low production values. Then came the Death Crawl Scene.
Without giving away anything for those who haven’t seen the movie – the Death Crawl Scene is one of the most amazing moments I’ve ever seen in any movie, big budget or small. It is emotional, inspirational, and revealing. It would be generous to call the acting mediocre in the first part of the film, but the performers found some hidden reserve of talent for that one short scene that somehow carries over to the remainder of the film.
If you haven’t seen it because of the budget, give it a shot. Although it isn’t Avatar, you’ll be pleasantly surprised by the production values. It may even make you wonder what the big budget films are spending so much money on.
If you’re avoiding it because it’s a Christian film, you’re cheating yourself out of an enjoyable movie experience. Yes, the characters pray. Yes, they occasionally read and quote the Bible. But unless you’re a member of your local Atheists-R-Us chapter, there isn’t anything so in-your-face about the spirituality of this film that could be found offensive to anyone. The writers even carefully chose to frame the faith of the main characters around the generic term “God” rather than the more specific name of Jesus (although they are unmistakably Christians).
To be fair, I’m a huge fan of sports movies and I do like a film with a good Christian message. But this is a movie with an appeal that goes far beyond aficionados of either genre. A great movie is a great movie, and it would be a shame for anyone to miss this one because of the labels that have been placed upon it.
