Machine Gun Preacher is based on a true story of Sam Childers when he became a born-again Christian and goes to Sudan, Africa to save children from an evil rebel army. The film fulfills its promise for being a decent action drama. The drama is effective and compelling enough. The action is easily watchable. It's a solid film though the pacing is quick in the slow moments while the gunfights and explosions has more interest. Machine Gun Preacher is not as bad as most people said. The film may not be a masterpiece or an Oscar worthy gold but it's good enough as a biography of Sam Childers.
It's quite an inspiring story about a bad man who became a hero. The film tells it well but it suffers with jumpy quick pacing. Like when Childers was planning to go to Africa, it immediately jumps to the scene when he's already there. It's not a bad thing but it feels kinda rushed. The drama is good at its best. There are plenty of emotional and heartbreaking moments. But most of the sad moments are the violent deaths of these children. The action scenes are watchable but sometimes it didn't quite fit to the drama. Like I said, the film tells the story well despite from its jumpy pace.
This may not be Gerard Butler's acting nuance but his performance is pretty good. Everybody knows that he's better in holding guns but here it's always about portraying Sam Childers and he does it well. Michael Shannon, Michelle Monaghan, and Souleymane Sy Savane also did a good job to their roles.
Nothing too much to say about the filmmaking. It's just decent. It's strange that a lot of people didn't liked it, but hey, it's their opinion. The film has its flaws. It's quite entertaining but what matters here the most is the story of one man who struggles with his beliefs and wanted to save lives. Though, the saddest moments relies too much to the violence and some of the action seems out of place. These things are necessary to the story but I think they embraces it too much. It's still a pretty good drama and it's best if you are here to see this man's story. It's flawed but heartwarming.
It's quite an inspiring story about a bad man who became a hero. The film tells it well but it suffers with jumpy quick pacing. Like when Childers was planning to go to Africa, it immediately jumps to the scene when he's already there. It's not a bad thing but it feels kinda rushed. The drama is good at its best. There are plenty of emotional and heartbreaking moments. But most of the sad moments are the violent deaths of these children. The action scenes are watchable but sometimes it didn't quite fit to the drama. Like I said, the film tells the story well despite from its jumpy pace.
This may not be Gerard Butler's acting nuance but his performance is pretty good. Everybody knows that he's better in holding guns but here it's always about portraying Sam Childers and he does it well. Michael Shannon, Michelle Monaghan, and Souleymane Sy Savane also did a good job to their roles.
Nothing too much to say about the filmmaking. It's just decent. It's strange that a lot of people didn't liked it, but hey, it's their opinion. The film has its flaws. It's quite entertaining but what matters here the most is the story of one man who struggles with his beliefs and wanted to save lives. Though, the saddest moments relies too much to the violence and some of the action seems out of place. These things are necessary to the story but I think they embraces it too much. It's still a pretty good drama and it's best if you are here to see this man's story. It's flawed but heartwarming.