Christian movies may seem like the punchline of cinema, but they are slowly taking themselves a little more seriously. I've said before that Christian movies are usually seen by their makers as vehicles to give an evangelical message, and most of their technical and artistic aspects are taken for granted and delivered in quite a generic way.
Fireproof is far from being a triumph, but Alex Hendrick's film has proved that it's learning, not practicing, though, how to do it right.
The script is better than usual, touching all the necessary elements to keep it from being boring, which is a welcome move. However, the performances and the directing doesn't help the story flow. The dramatic, main story is boring. The evangelical preaching, as usual, doesn't sound very sincere. The lines of dialog are seldom realistic, taking few risks at harsh talking, but what do you expect from a church producing a family film? As an example, there's a particular scene where Caleb's wife, Catherine, confronts him over watching porn on the computer, but for some unexplained reason, she refers to it only as "trash on the internet". Lady, call it what it is. And it is called porn!
If it didn't have any of the comedy relief and action scenes in between, all of them expendable, nonetheless, the movie would be half as exciting as a soap opera episode. And, most frustratingly, the comedic scenes feel forced and fail to churn up at least a giggle.
The film's two lone action scenes are a good diversion to the story, but they aren't convincing or memorable enough. It's a bit ironic that given the references of fire in the story and the flames that appear on the cover on a movie starring firefighters, there is only one sequence in which there is an actual fire. And unfortunately, this scene is incredibly poorly done, thanks to the limited budget.
Awknownledged, most of the actors were volunteers, but it doesn't feel like they poured their hearts into their roles. Kirk Cameron, God bless him, seems a little out of his league to deliver such an emotionally heavy performance.
The cinematography is quite sub-par, although some of it is due to the film's limited budget. Still, the fire truck scenes are unexciting and the conversational scenes make you beg for close ups.
A capable score by Mark Willard is somehow overshadowed in the worst way by some standard worship songs. I understand that the music should glorify God as well as accompany the visuals, but can someone please do something more original or innovative than just generic pop-rock you hear in any single Christian bookstore?
I recognize the great deal of work that came into producing the film, but it's still not enough. The movie does avoid to be awful, but with some of the ingredients to make a memorable film, it fails, not miserably, but fails. The day is yet to come where you can hear cussing in a Christian film.
Fireproof is far from being a triumph, but Alex Hendrick's film has proved that it's learning, not practicing, though, how to do it right.
The script is better than usual, touching all the necessary elements to keep it from being boring, which is a welcome move. However, the performances and the directing doesn't help the story flow. The dramatic, main story is boring. The evangelical preaching, as usual, doesn't sound very sincere. The lines of dialog are seldom realistic, taking few risks at harsh talking, but what do you expect from a church producing a family film? As an example, there's a particular scene where Caleb's wife, Catherine, confronts him over watching porn on the computer, but for some unexplained reason, she refers to it only as "trash on the internet". Lady, call it what it is. And it is called porn!
If it didn't have any of the comedy relief and action scenes in between, all of them expendable, nonetheless, the movie would be half as exciting as a soap opera episode. And, most frustratingly, the comedic scenes feel forced and fail to churn up at least a giggle.
The film's two lone action scenes are a good diversion to the story, but they aren't convincing or memorable enough. It's a bit ironic that given the references of fire in the story and the flames that appear on the cover on a movie starring firefighters, there is only one sequence in which there is an actual fire. And unfortunately, this scene is incredibly poorly done, thanks to the limited budget.
Awknownledged, most of the actors were volunteers, but it doesn't feel like they poured their hearts into their roles. Kirk Cameron, God bless him, seems a little out of his league to deliver such an emotionally heavy performance.
The cinematography is quite sub-par, although some of it is due to the film's limited budget. Still, the fire truck scenes are unexciting and the conversational scenes make you beg for close ups.
A capable score by Mark Willard is somehow overshadowed in the worst way by some standard worship songs. I understand that the music should glorify God as well as accompany the visuals, but can someone please do something more original or innovative than just generic pop-rock you hear in any single Christian bookstore?
I recognize the great deal of work that came into producing the film, but it's still not enough. The movie does avoid to be awful, but with some of the ingredients to make a memorable film, it fails, not miserably, but fails. The day is yet to come where you can hear cussing in a Christian film.