I am a connoisseur of Christian filmmaking. Because I enjoyed Flywheel and Facing the Giants, I had to watch Alex Kendrick’s latest drama, Courageous. As he has gained more funding and respect, Kendrick can venture a little further from his humble stories and add a smidge more violence and sensationalism, which is disappointing. On a scale of all movies, it is mild and not even eyebrow raising worthy, but the idea that a bucolic small town is somehow simultaneously overrun with gang and drug activity seemed at best, a bit convenient and at worst, a film plagued with stereotypes. In spite of that, the cop chase scenes were actually pretty neat as officers opened car doors and practically catapulted to chase a suspect to give relief to the other officer who was running on foot. All Kendrick films have a pretty simple framework: a guy is failing at fulfilling his role as x, guy gets convicted by the Holy Spirit that he was wrong and vows to change, guy inspires others to follow suit, guy’s convictions are challenged by obstacles and is tempted to go back to his old ways for very good reasons then he doesn’t and is rewarded by God’s providence, his family and community. I prefer when Kendrick uses this formula in the workplace over the home like in Courageous because he runs the risk of using examples that seem less realistic and can end up detracting from a great overall message. In Courageous, the men are convicted that they are not good fathers and haven’t taken an important role in their family’s lives. Many of the reforms are laudable and should be copied, but many of the examples seem unlikely ideals that don’t occur in many Christian homes. Come on, if your husband is unemployed, and the wife is homeschooling, guess what? The wife is going to get a job or two in the meantime. Also a father should take an important role in his growing daughter’s life and spend more time with her, especially as she begins to get interested in romantic relationships but perhaps it shouldn’t look like he is dating her. I know that Kendrick wasn’t trying to go for an incest vibe, but a modeling vibe of raising a girl’s expectations on how she should be treated by a significant other, but no, it looked weird. Fathers should take each individual kid for meals at restaurants so they get to spend time together instead of getting lost in the hectic rhythm of daily life, but it shouldn’t seem romantic. For those Christian and non Christian viewers interested in checking out Kendrick’s work, I would advise you to see Flywheel and Facing the Giants, but Courageous is for Christians who are already fans and won’t mind a weaker story with more pacing issues.