As a vessel for the Kendrick brothers to spread God's word, it is easier to appreciate. The film runs too long and its pacing is haphazard. There is an overlong Double Dutch climax and what must go down as 2015's most ludicrous dream sequence. The dramatic and cinematic instincts are far from finely tuned.

War Room resembles the other Kendrick-made movies, which include Courageous (2011), Facing the Giants (2006), and the aforementioned Fireproof (2008). The movie's big climax ponders what else Tony could stand to lose, by confessing to his former employees that he has been scraping a bit off the top of his pharmaceutical samples, a crime for which he could easily serve jail time. Dramatically telling the Devil to get out of her house and marriage, Elizabeth's newfound spiritual commitment soon has an effect on Tony, who after nearly committing adultery, loses his job, his car, and his cell phone. After becoming aware of how their daughter Danielle (Alena Pitts) has been neglected, Elizabeth takes an interest in the girl's new extracurricular activity: Double Dutch jump roping. The redecoration is part of a bigger housecleaning of Elizabeth's soul. Soon, Elizabeth is doing as instructed: clearing a closet out of clothes, shoes, and other distractions to simply pray to God. Clara uses a lukewarm cup of coffee to teach Elizabeth a lesson about her relationship with Christ and then informs her of the power of prayer. Forty years a widow, Clara is about to finally put her house on the market, but she has some questions for Elizabeth before she does. Tony also has a wandering eye and few scruples about the schmoozing his lucrative job entails.Įlizabeth is put on the spot by Miss Clara Williams (Karen Abercrombie), the film's opening narrator and a potential client. He vehemently objects to her giving $5,000 from their joint account to a family member, because, after all, he makes four times as much as his wife does. Their marriage may look rock solid to outside observers, but we know better, bearing witness to squabbles over money. Stallings) is a pharmaceutical sales rep. Elizabeth Jordan (Priscilla Shirer) is a realtor. Though the title might make you expect a military film (after all, Fireproof was about a firefighter), War Room deals with the wars between husbands and wives. They may intend for their work to do both of those things, but you'll never for a second doubt that the filmmakers are more concerned with viewers taking their Christian values to heart than simply enjoying two hours of their elementary original storytelling. The $68 million it grossed on a budget of just $3 million was more than what many an expensive mainstream film could draw from the domestic marketplace, from Fox's ill-fated Fantastic Four reboot to Johnny Depp's gangster flick Black Mass to the Wachowskis' Jupiter Ascending.ĭespite the rises in attendance and the consistent critical disapproval, the Kendricks have not altered their approach to movies, which are designed more to proselytize than to entertain. This year's effort, War Room, was perhaps too successful for the industry to ignore, but also too homegrown to try to imitate.

Critics have not cared for the Kendricks' aesthetically challenged Christian dramas, but it hasn't made a difference, since each successive film has opened bigger, expanded further, and sold more tickets. Instead of hopping on the effects-laden PG-13 tentpole bandwagon, writer-director Alex and writer-producer Stephen have made movies that embody their belief system and appeal to the members of Sherwood Baptist,

The Kendrick Brothers have evolved into commercially formidable filmmakers by ignoring every piece of prevailing wisdom in Hollywood.

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