Title: Courageous
Director: Alex Kendrick
Starring: Alex Kendrick, Ken Bevel, Ben Davies, Kevin Downes, Robert Amaya
Courageous is a religious genre flick with some edge to it. Naturally there’s reflection within the dialogue but there’s also solid comedy and a few intense action sequences; all which mesh perfectly in this 130 spiritual telling.
The story centers around five guys – four working as officers for Albany, Georgia Sheriff’s Department – as they go through the rigors of life. The fifth guy, Javier (Robert Amaya), is a struggling construction worker whose only goal is to keep food on the table for his wife & kids. Times are tough for Javier’s family yet they always keep their faith in God. Same goes for the deputies (Alex Kendrick, Ken Bevel, Ben Davies and Kevin Downes) as they bond over the job and their faith in the Lord.
As the audience is brought into their respective lives, each of them are dealing with a variety hardships in which the crew must lean on each other to keep one-another on the righteous path so to speak. Without giving too much away, the hurdles everyone goes through ranges from communicating with their children to coping with the death of a loved one. Moments are set-up where each of them are tested in doing the right thing and the script(ure) shows the rewards and/or hardships stemming from these said choices. No matter what your belief system is, the results of these sequences can make you feel some type of emotion as the performers find the correct tone in all their actions.
What is laid on too thick is the Christ cheerleading. Although this is a genre pic, the chances of reeling in other demographics outside of the niche market this is obviously geared toward may tune some people out. Now genre films are required to throw in an abundance of staple elements one expects. Horror flicks are supposed to have scares and a body count for example. But many of them find a way to balance it out (at least the good ones). Courageous is more concerned about conversion than a balanced tone. That’s not to say that the material isn’t gripping or anything like that; it just would have been nice to showcase a little discretion, since this at times is shot like a documentary. And it’s not like the filmmakers didn’t have more tools to work with (just like Jesus the carpenter).
The comedy segments are hilarious and clever when all the actors are working together. It’s as if the people behind Super Troopers found God but still kept a sense of humor. Even the handfuls of action sequences are intense all things considered. Despite being a “Praise Jesus” feature, the cinematography during the comedy & action are executed as if that was director Alex Kendrick’s specialty. Effortlessly transcending genres behind the scenes doesn’t happen too often in movies these days, as many directors are just a one or two trick pony. And when factoring in that this entire cast is comprised of “unknowns” one should appreciate just how crisp and clean this comes out.
All that being said, the long dragging scenes, that shove the religion down your throat, scream Lifetime Movie of the Week. Watching this is the same as DVR’ing a network drama and watching three or four of them in a row. This is not so much a feature film as it is an ongoing series with multiple subplots that run too close to the main plot of God’s the man. Especially when the whole “Being the best father you can be” angle shines through and the camera showcases each character interacting with their kids. If you’re going to have subplots they need to deviate far enough away from the main theme. Since it didn’t really occur here, the flick seems drawn out like a drunken priest giving a sermon at Christmas mass.
Overall, Courageous is a genre film that could entice audiences outside of the obvious flock it’s geared toward. A decent blend of genres break-up the monotony of God knows what he’s doing stigma. Can the story be overpowering in a bad way? Absolutely. However, if you’re going to put out a message, there is no need to half-ass it. Having top-notch filmmaking and storytelling can guide one through the propaganda.
Technical: B+
Acting: A
Story: C
Overall: B
Review by Joe Belcastro
