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One must also acknowledge that the film—made on a $100,000 budget by a Baptist church in Albany, Georgia—has its heart in the right place; there are good lessons here about honoring God in everything that we do, the importance of respect and leadership, and the power of prayer. Those are all things viewers could benefit from hearing. Whether they ever will hear them, though, is another matter—when a film is as unintentionally corny as this one, it's anyone's guess as to how many viewers can stomach all the schmaltz for the positive message at the end.

1. What do you think causes Grant's change of heart midway through the movie
2. What does the film tell us about winning? About doing our best in everything we do
3. What lessons does the film show us about respect
4. According to the film, what are some qualities of a good leader
5. Seems like everything went right for Grant and those around him after he got right with Jesus. Does that seem realistic? Why or why not? How might you have written the story differently?

Facing the Giants is rated PG for some thematic material. Aside from some talk about a married couple trying to conceive, and perhaps some hard-hitting football action, there's nothing here that should be too concerning for parents—though you may want to talk with your kids about some of the iffy theology presented in a few scenes (see especially Question 5 in "Talk About It" above).

Photos © Copyright Samuel Goldwyn

© Josh Hurst 2006, subject to licensing agreement with Christianity Today International. All rights reserved. Click for reprint information.

Film critics sometimes face daunting challenges—especially when their responsibility to assess a film's strengths, weaknesses, and artistic integrity ends up offending moviegoers who were inspired by a particular movie.

Such was the case recently for Christian film critics who saw Facing the Giants. Several factors contributed to this:

1) The film had already been in the national news when the MPAA gave Giants a PG rating instead of a G. Initial reports claimed that the MPAA cited the film's proselytizing as the reason, but the MPAA soon said it was for other "thematic" reasons.

2) Giants is one of those rare films in which Christian faith is presented as a positive thing—a rare treat for Christians who get tired of seeing themselves portrayed as buffoons or villains.

3) The journey of making Giants—by a Baptist church in Georgia—is an inspiring tale. Giants was funded by Christians, put together by volunteers, and looks impressive considering its low budget.

4) Giants follows in a long line of sports-related films that inspire audiences with a David-and-Goliath story; audiences love a tale of underdogs who overcome the odds.

Thus, any critic who, in assessing its technical and artistic excellence, dares to point out Giants' weaknesses along with its strengths is bound to upset people who think that Christian content alone is sufficient to make it a good movie.

But the critic's job is not to judge the film based on whether or not the audience will cheer. Nor should he base his assessment on whether or not the film preaches a Christian message. The critic is responsible to consider how the film is made, and assess whether it is sloppy, mediocre, adequate, admirable, or—and this doesn't happen very often—excellent. He must consider the quality of the performances, editing, soundtrack, cinematography, screenwriting, direction, and more. He must hold it up to other films of its kind, to see how its artistry compares to others. In short, he must consider not only what story the movie tells, but also whether or not it tells that story in the best possible way.

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