Director: Alex Kendrick

Producer: Stephen Kendrick

Writer: Alex Kendrick & Stephen Kendrick

Starring: Alex Kendrick, Ken Bevel, Kevin Downes, Renee Jewell, 

Running Time: 130 minutes

Release date: August 26, 2011

For Father’s Day I have decided to jump into my time machine and review a film released back in 2011. Courageous is a faith-based film tackling the subject of fatherhood and the responsibilities that are inherent with in. It was written and produced by the film making duo of Alex and Stephen Kendrick who entered the wold of films with their 2003 effort Flywheel. Under the banner of the Sherwood Baptist Church based in Albany, Georgia U.S.A., they created what has become widely recognised internationally as one of the premiere film ministries. Other films in their filmography include Facing the Giants (2006), Fireproof (2008), Courageous (2011), War Room (2015) and Overcomer (2019).

Our focus for today however is set in the small town of Albany and focuses on the interactions between four sheriff’s officers and a Hispanic immigrant seeking gainful employment. Alex Kendrick plays Adam Mitchell, a police officer who struggles to balance his professional obligations with providing spiritual direction for his family. His fellow officers include Nathan Hayes (Ken Bevel), who just transferred from Atlanta to offer his family a peaceful life, David Thomson (Ben Davies) and Shane Fuller (Kevin Downes). These are four haven't always been the best dads, but when disaster strikes, they must confront the facts of their respective lives and decide once and for all whether they will take up the mantle of the fathers they were always meant to be. Adam, especially, is re-born into the spiritual duties of traditional family values when his job continually exposes him to the societal ruin and spiritual gloom caused by fatherless households.

Courageous is skilful in the mixing of moving drama, understated comedy and several impressive action sequences. Stand out for me was the awesomely filmed foot chase and the shootout. The characters are intricate and fleshed out while besieged with personal matters that test their faith and personality. I have seen many faith-based films and firmly believe Courageous thrives where many of them have failed. Granted, faith is unquestionably in the forefront of the film but it manages to entwine faith into real life and draws a convincing portrayal of poignantly real everyday people. Produced on a moderate production budget of $1 million, (R7,215 million in 2011 money) demonstrates that a filmmaker with heart, passion, authenticity and, in this instance, faith can transcend a large budget or CGI heavy insanity.

Non-Christian audiences that may be interested in exploring this film may be put off by the heavy evangelising, which even I have to admit feels a bit more heavy handed than in the Kendricks’ previous outings. So if you're looking for a film that mildly touches the surface and never preaches, you might want to give Courageous a hard pass. However, this is a film that you will love, appreciate, welcome and genuinely enjoy if faith is a part of your life or if you just want to appreciate a film where faith is a key element. To be a police officer undoubtedly requires a whole lot of grit, but being a father demands a degree of humility, fragility, and tenacity. Courageous will force you to honour your fatherhood if you are one and may make you crave to be a father if you aren't one already. For those of you who have lost fathers or children, I suggest you get the box of tissue ready before watching it.