Courageous [Movie Review]

I think the beauty of any work of art is its ability to be a compelling mirror of life that we can take a break from life itself and sit back look into. With no ifs or buts, I would say Courageous is one of the best movies I have seen in the last one year (yes, I have seen Warrior, Tourist, Inception, Sorcerer's apprentice and other very great ones.), and the story telling is superb. For every good story, the hallmarks are character development, the hero finding identity or finding his way plus humor, romance and suspense on the journey. New movie by the Sheerwood Church drama team lacks none of these; in fact it offers it in a seamless form one can't resist.

The first scene is worth the price of the film and more. One thing I love most about this movie is that though it's by a church's drama team, it really can't be termed a 'Christian' movie cause it tackles a lot of social issues. A quick overview: the story's central theme is fatherhood and the ripple effects fathers abandoning their roles have in a society in need of it.

I remember watching 'Charlie St. Cloud' which starred Zac Efron and how the subject of grief was dealt with seemed so dark to me. Now please don't get me wrong, losing someone itself could be a very dark experience. But I love Courageous take on the subject of grief. I also remember watching 'Stomp the Yard' starring popular Chris Brown and almost weeping how his character's life was taken in the movie. Courageous also tackles the street gang issue in a way we see a cause and also a solution. In letting you into a bit of the story, I don't know where to start from not to spoil the fun and enjoyment for you, it's that seamless. The movie hinges on this very true statistics

"When a father is absent, kids are five times more likely to commit suicide and abuse drugs, 20 times more likely to wind up in prison. "

Courageous is bold and relevant. It isn't just another 'Christian' movie, to term it that is to deny a society of ready answers to a breaking point problem. Please take a break at least for some two hours from the many movies out there that keep painting up a make believe world which end up like broken or distorted mirrors in our view after a long hard look and watch Courageous. You would laugh, cry, smile, scream, get to the edge of your seat and do all those things a good movie does to you and long after the disc stops, a call to be part of the solution to the state we have found ourselves in, you would keep hearing. It's as real as life it's self but brighter as it should be. Next stop at the cinemas or the iTunes HD area? let it be courageous. You wouldn't regret it. No hype!