Clint and I saw Courageous: Honor Begins At Home last night with our son, Brandon. It was much better than I expected!
We had heard the movie's overall theme was aimed at men so we wanted to take Brandon with us. While the movie does deal with a lot of serious issues facing men and their families, there are also messages for women. There's also a lot to laugh at as humor is interjected throughout to help the audience deal with the heavier issues. Someone carefully crafted this film, and it shows.
Being a girl who enjoys action, the movie grabbed my attention from the first breath stealing scene. I was hanging on Clint's arm as one man fought to hold onto the side of his truck as a thug tried to steal it. When the audience and I realized why the man was fighting so hard to stay with the truck, there was an audible gasp in the theatre. Javier had the entire theatre laughing out loud with his "...y lemonaaaaaadaaaaaa!" It's been a long time since I've seen an audience as engaged in a movie as they were this one.
I've read a lot of reviews on this movie. Many of them knock the film because it contains a Christian message. I have watched Hindu movies with Hindu messages throughout. I don't believe that way, so I ignored it and still enjoyed the movie's storyline. I didn't come out of the movie hating Hindus for trying to share their beliefs with me. It was still a good story. It's up to me to decide how much to take and how much to leave behind when I walk away from a movie.
When I consider a movie's worth, I consider: Is the movie interesting? Does it capture and hold your attention? Are the scenes well scripted and easy to understand? Does the story flow well? Do the actors do a believable job portraying their character? I really do not enjoy "over-done" action scenes, so an important question for me is: Are the action scenes reasonable? Does the movie evoke a response in the audience? Do the camera angles make the scenes interesting? Courageous is a yes to every single one of those questions.
When the movie ended in the theatre, the audience sat in their seats for a long time. Quiet. Still. Then they clapped. How often does that happen?
I encourage you to go see the movie.
