I remembered this movie when I saw @afrikens review on woar room though they are not related, but I watched them the same day. So i decide to make a review for courageous.
The movie is a deliberate examination of what fatherhood means when a man is forced to confront the difference between providing for his family and actually being present in his family.
The central conflict of courageous is not really about police work. The police setting is almost a framework used to contrast two kinds of responsibility. These men are trained to protect strangers, face danger and make difficult decisions at work, yet the movie reveal whether they are giving the same seriousness to the people waiting for them at home.
The Kendrick brothers clearly designed the film as both entertainment and a message driven work.
I rate it my hundred because it speaks of how fatherhood requires intentionality in a way that interest me.
The characters have different personalities, different family situations and different weaknesses, but the movie keeps returning to the.
The film also deserves credit for attempting an ensemble structure instead of giving us only one man's journey. Four police officers and Javier, a construction worker, allow the movie to examine fatherhood from different circumstances. Christianity Today noted that this ensemble approach was more ambitious than the filmmakers' earlier work, although it also created a structural problem because there are so many storylines competing for attention.
And yes, that problem is noticeable.
Some characters receive enough development to make their struggles meaningful, while other storylines feel like they are competing for space. The movie wants to discuss fatherhood, marriage, faith, crime, poverty, gangs, responsibility, forgiveness and masculinity almost simultaneously. That ambition gives the film substance, but it also makes the screenplay feel crowded.
I also appreciate that the movie doesn't present fatherhood as simply buying things, paying bills or protecting children from physical danger. It connects fatherhood with attention, guidance, discipline, affection, accountability and moral responsibility. Whether someone agrees with every religious conclusion the film makes or not, that central discussion gives the movie something worth examining.
Rating: 100/100
