Fireproof

The writing and directing Kendrick brothers, Alex and Stephen, have raised blandness and narrative predictability to the level of high art.

Fireproof stops becoming relatable to us all and only to the already, or easily, indoctrinated.

Unfortunately, the emphasis on what God wants has a way of overwhelming who Caleb and Catherine are as characters.

You probably can't blame pastors moonlighting as moviemakers for wanting to pack their film with multiple messages, but the conversion subplot feels shoehorned into the more crucial marital doings.

While hardly sophisticated in its approach and certainly not polished in its technical elements, the film does get its heartfelt message across with undeniable sincerity.

In the history of marital discord in the movies, has there ever been a blander conflict than the one between firefighter Kirk Cameron and his goodly wife Erin Bethea in the dismal Christian-themed melodrama Fireproof?

Erin Bethea, on the other hand, doesn't have quite the range to pull off Catherine.

Parental Content Review

As a companion piece to a Bible study group this may have some merit, but it doesn't belong in a theater.

People like Kirk Cameron apparently require Scriptural instruction about how to not act like a complete **** to your wife.