Review of "Courageous"

A police station in Albany Georgia is populated by men of all races and personalities. There is one tie which binds them, a tie which reaches even deeper than the bond shared by police. They are all fathers, yet most of their fathering falls short of what their wives and children long for in their loneliness.
 That is the theme of "Courageous" which is another film by the Sherwood Baptist Church which brought you "Fireproof" and "Facing the Giants". Sherwood Baptist Church is a unique phenomenon, a movie-making Baptist Church, but they have come a long way since their first film, "Flywheel", and "Courageous" is proof that an openly faith-based film can be riveting. Although I had a long day at the Catholic Marketing Network trade show, and viewed another film before it,  I was emotionally involved the entire film,and noticed, when it was time to leave, that my sides ached from laughing and my eyes were wet with tears.
Courageous is not all sermons, however, it has several interwoven stories of the policemen's families in need of healing because of the failure to father. Its a story so many of us see all around us, where fathers are missing either in body or in spirit from their families. Courageous seems to touch on most popular scenarios; the workaholic dad, the missing dad, the absent but loving dad, all called to account by the dedicated dad whose relationship with his family and his God is built on solid ground.

Courageous is riveting if preachy (I don't mind a bit of preaching in a film if they tell a good story) film which touches the heart of the crisis in society, which is the source of crime, drug abuse and misery in the ghettos; absentee and uninvolved fathers.The film makes no bones about wanting to start a movement of men supporting men in their fatherhood, and I hope, that as they did in "Fireproof" they succeed ("The Love Dare" the book used in the film was a bestseller) The good news is that that Catholics like the National Catholic Register's Tim Drake were brought in as consultants during the filming, and the follow materials are geared towards Evangelical as well as Catholic viewers.
 If it does become a movement, Courageous could go a long way toward healing millions of broken hearts in our country.Action scenes are tightly directed, and meaningful though violent. There is no profanity, or nudity, though some scenes may be too intense for little viewers.
Highly recomended for children over ten, but don't take the kids yet. Go for the first time as a date with the man in your life, this film is a real conversation starter.

See the trailer here.