"End of the Spear" Review

I saw the new Christian film "End of the Spear" yesterday. Lets start with what the critics are saying, here are some excerpts:

Boston Globe, Wesley Morris
"Not an emotional powerhouse so much as a dutiful public service announcement."

Chicago Tribune, Allison Benedikt
"...a childish and visually repetitive movie, ham-fisted, proselytizing and overtly simplified."

E! Online,
"Religious movies are not known for their artfulness, and this one is no exception."

Entertainment Weekly, Owen Gleiberman
"...atrociously scripted and edited..."

End of the Spear never quite shakes free of presenting the Waodani as the mysterious other — barbarians waiting to be civilized. The missionaries don't hang around long enough to do it, but the movie, which is atrociously scripted and edited, carries out the mission for them, turning Mincayani (Louie Leonardo), a surly and handsome Waodani leader, from killer to saint without making psychological sense of either.

The percussive score pulses and soars like music from a generic jungle flick (it falls into a musical category that Variety recently called "orchestral with ethnic elements")....The characters, however, are not as exhilarating or well conceived as any of the action sequences are well choreographed. This is too bad because the true story is such a fascinating convergence of earnestness and incivility.


Unfortunately I think the critics are justified in their comments. However I personally thought the film was the best Christian film made to date. There were problems with it however and I think the critics all pointed it out in their own way. Here is why I think the critics didn't like it, I remind you though I didn't find the movie laughable like the left behind films.

The film is deliberately manipulative, there is no question. And even when watching it, I felt like they dumbed the story down for me. The POV of the film was misplaced I felt. It had a huge potential to be something greater. I think that is the central fault with the script, the story was told from a kids perspective, but we never knew what the kid wanted, or why he was relevant really to the story. Also we saw no clear motivation for any of the characters, and the film did feel like the Christians were the ones that were in the wrong, like we conquering them. I think one of the critics pointed that out.

Now for the good. The Indians were incredible, I felt like they were real, it felt documentary -esque. The film didn't feel that embarrassing to me, and I think the critics were biased somewhat when viewing the film. But maybe they weren't. This however proves that only way to win Hollywood is through the back door. I think really the fundamental flaw of the film was it didn't really know what its purpose was. That's why one of the critics called it a public service anouncement. It's kind of the difference between reading the facts and dramatizing the facts. But again I recommend the film. And if you are a Christian you have to see it, its mandatory, its in the Bible. "thou shalt support your Christian filmmaker" 1 Timothy 25:17.