Courageous

It takes a certain touch to pull it off, and here, the serviceable cast just doesn't have it in them.

The many topics raised - gangs, drugs, immigration, absentee parents, poverty - are examined with didacticism and platitudes instead of by mining their inherent complexities.

Overplotted and understructured, "Courageous" is a slog to get through at 130 minutes.

Devolves into over-the-top drama and a suffocating heavy-handedness.

Fails to answer the more pressing question of why religious sagas such as this treat subtlety as a sin.

Courageous literally preaches to the converted, delivering ham-fisted messages of responsibility to the most receptive audience possible.

The best film yet from Sherwood Pictures.

Most of the characters are well-written and nuanced.

Nicely produced, but the converted are more likely to be impressed than the skeptical.

Dares to preach its highly controversial message in order to inspire the faithful while risking the ire of critics and non-believers. Its message? Fathers, man up.