Machine Gun Preacher

I did not believe it. The problem to me is the main actor, or rather the character he plays. It's not that Gerard Butler’s performance is poor, not at all, quite the opposite, but apparently the script does not allow the viewer to feel his transformation impulsively and realistically enough. So I was not convinced by bad Butler becoming good Butler. And since that is supposed to be a key element of the film, it completely failed. At least they maintained a consistent pattern (rough bad Butler, rough good Butler), and fortunately, they didn't turn him into a monk. However, it is still a very inconsistent thing, the same goes for the technical aspect. At times it looks like we won't even see any blood, you get the impression that it is aiming for PG-13 and then some unprecedented brutality follows. I expected the director of Quantum of Solace to have a much stronger action directorial style. I really don't know what to think about all of this. In any case, I believe that this film did not impress any of the many ethnic groups or film fans, despite (or precisely because) everyone could take something of their own from it. (25.03.2012)

I didn't even believe Gerard Butler that he was shooting this time, let alone being somehow mesmerized by his "transformation" from a dope-smoking biker released from prison into a man who found God, and then into a Rambo-esque fighter who doesn't hesitate to fill the kidnappers of African children with lead. Don't get me wrong, I have nothing against movies showing any religion from a more appealing side. But what was this supposed to be? An unintentionally ridiculous spectacle, which I didn't believe all the more because it was based on reality. (04.11.2013)

I have one big problem with Machine Gun Preacher, or maybe two. The first is that Childer’s transformations are terribly sudden and the movie concentrates much more on the less interesting parts, like when the asshole becomes a nice guy, while it concentrates only very briefly on the part when the nice guy becomes a murderous maniac, which is much better and more interesting. And Butler’s acting is excellent and it would have been far more bombastic if they had concentrated on a shorter section of time in more detail, rather than trying to map his entire “working" life. The second problem is that I don’t much like what happens in this picture. Building an orphanage in the middle of a war zone is a very bad idea. Did Sam ever think about what those people were going to do when they grow up? (19.05.2012)

The creator of the masterpiece that is Monster’s Ball converted to Christianity and lost his mind. But he retained his heart – his film reminded me of Stone’s World Trade Center – a simple story full of pathos about the suffering of innocents and the need to help one another. Machine Gun Preacher is a naïve, straightforward movie for average Americans taking refuge in the Bible. Scenes of preaching about God are more abundant here than in a documentary about the Pope. They are too much for atheist viewers and will spoil their film experience. And when Gerard Butler’s preacher stops talking and takes picks up his shotgun, the film becomes more entertaining but less convincing. I’m giving the third star for the colorful and exotic soundtrack, which I had listened to in advance and made watching the film more enjoyable. And also for the “big heart” trying to help African kids. If I were more of a cynic, I wouldn’t even have thought about it. (04.01.2012)

I’d heard about Kony and the horrors in Africa long before the film Machine Gun Preacher came out, especially after the big campaign last year. So when I heard they made a movie about a guy fighting against violence—ironically, using violence—I was intrigued. I’d been looking forward to it for months, but honestly, I ended up really disappointed. Gerard Butler wasn’t a terrible choice for the lead, but the way they told the story was all over the place. Sam Childers, Butler’s character, is supposed to go through this major transformation from bad to good. But the film handles it in the weirdest way. First, we see Bad Sam: he gets out of prison, does a bunch of awful stuff, and continues being a terrible person. He’s using drugs, killing people, just all-around bad. His family finds God, and he literally laughs in their faces. Then, suddenly, in about 30 seconds, he has a revelation—boom, he’s sitting in church. That’s it. No real transition, no character growth. It’s like flipping a switch, and we’re supposed to just go along with it. This wasn’t a one-time thing either—the movie kept pulling this kind of emotional whiplash. The film doesn’t really explore the emotions or inner struggles you'd expect from a story like this, and that’s a huge missed opportunity. This is supposed to be a film about a man’s moral and emotional journey, but it skips over the parts that matter most. That being said, there were moments worth watching—some scenes were genuinely good. But overall, I was let down from the start, and that feeling stuck with me through to the end. The real-life Sam Childers, who appears at the end, felt way more compelling than the film version. And let’s not even get started on the religious overtones that run through the whole movie. But hey, that’s how it goes in American cinema sometimes. Hallelujah, I guess. (23.04.2012)