Film Review by Kam Williams
Military Widow Loses, Regains Faith in Cliche-Ridden Tale of Redemption
Sergeant Darren Hill (Liam Matthews) was just days away from finishing up a tour of duty in Afghanistan when he died during an ambush of his unit. The shocking news devastated his wife, Amber (Lindsay Pulsipher), and their young daughter, Bree (Makenzie Moss).
In fact, Amber was so embittered, she Amber stepped down as her church’s choir director, moaning, “Look where my faith in God got us.” And pep talks from Pastor Williams (LaDainian Tomlinson) and her BFFs, Bridgette (Jordin Sparks) and Karena (Robin Givens) fail to bring her back into the fold.
Two years later, and we find the grieving widow struggling to keep a roof over her head. Waitressing at the local diner simply doesn’t pay enough to keep the bank from threatening to foreclose on her house.
When Amber’s served with a notice to vacate the premises, she borrows $800 from a loan shark at a usurious rate, a short-term fix certain to come back to bite her. It takes hitting rock bottom for her to rethink turning her back on God.
Thus unfolds the opening act of God Bless the Broken Road, a faith-based drama directed and co-written by Harold Cronk (God’s Not Dead 1 and 2). Unfortunately, the cliche-ridden, modern morality play is less concerned with character development than with hammering home a heavy-handed message about the virtues of Christianity.
Quite predictably, Amber’s fortunes do improve, but only after her faith in the Lord is restored. Meanwhile, the screen is littered with one-dimensional caricatures who bear no resemblance to real people.
A simplistic, sermonizing parable strictly for the Bible-thumping demographic.
Fair (1 star)
Rated PG for combat action and mature themes
Running time: 111 minutes
Production Studio: 10 West Studios / A Really Good Home Pictures
Studio: Freestyle Releasing
To see a trailer for God Bless the Broken Road, visit: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IlDNPY-Qyog
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