Machine Gun Preacher

[shmile]

saw this last night
andfor the first 15 minutes id thought this would be really boring and i wouldnt enjoy but i actually thought the movie wasnt as bad as everyone made it out to be
though i did think the time skips were quite abrupt and obviously like everyone else dont believe you can change overnight but it was okay thought it was quite moving
7/10

[hlm]

saw this last night
andfor the first 15 minutes id thought this would be really boring and i wouldnt enjoy but i actually thought the movie wasnt as bad as everyone made it out to be
though i did think the time skips were quite abrupt and obviously like everyone else dont believe you can change overnight but it was okay thought it was quite moving
7/10

I completely agree. The first part I didn't really like but I thought the rest was interesting and moving.

[Jayman]

Am very confused by the new batch of codes from SFF. Their mail reads:

"We have a few tickets available to a special preview of Machine Gun Preacher, tomorrow night, before it opens in cinemas nationwide next month." but the tickets are for the 17th - which is tonight! Surely their e-mail bot can't be so back-logged??? (unless it's running on a Blackberry)

[cliveas]

I saw this at a nearly empty Greenwich tonight and found it a more powerful and thought provoking film than I was expecting.

I do agree however about the acting in general and in particular that of Gerard Butler. It was really unconvincing and a lot of the change in his character and motivations were glossed over, which is a shame because there could be a really good film in there somewhere.

Also the politics were really confused in the film. Clearly it was aimed at people who know nothing of the conflict in this region and pains were taken not to upset the regime in the new South Sudan.

[Flabber]

Rather thought provoking subject matter... but as a movie it doesn't seem to work. Not sure if as mentioned its the time-warps or the the fact that its Gerard Butler.

[raj101]

its a bit dull, isnt it.

Gerard Butler does himself no favours in this role, but the plot doesnt help, theres no real reason given why the guy becomes what he does, nor any kind of likeability to him.

[JazzyC]

We found this one better than we expected from the reviews - not stellar by any means - but an interesting and thought provoking film. The performances were not great and neither was the way the director (or writer?) had chosen to present the story. I found the content itself was very interesting though - enough for me to want to see what happened.
Our screening had a small, older age audience and people did seem to have their attention held throughout.

I found the end credits, with the photos of the real people involved, one of the best things - it is good to see something not purely Hollywood. The final statement from the 'real Sam' in the credits certainly gave everyone something to think about as they left the film. I don't think you were supposed to like Sam or see much likeable in him - just challenge your thinking about what he did - how he responded to the horrific circumstances he found.

Part of the good thing about getting these free films is the fact that you can expand your viewing by going to things you would not have pa*d to see -- I was not sure I wanted to see it - but I did not regret having seen it when leaving. 6/10

[EthanRunt]

Had a screening this afternoon, it's amazing how a man's life can be turned into a convenient three act structure.

Butler tries, bless him, but he can't help being unable to really pull drama with a terrible accent. Michael Shannon, however, makes everything better, and almost makes parts of this film watchable. Marc Forster cannot direct an action scene to save his life, we saw that with Quantum of Solace, so what bright spark gave him a script involving scenes where the audience needed to be able to see and comprehend what was going on?
Bad move.

The script somehow managed to make an interesting topic as bland as something for a cheap US TV station, which limits the talents of Shannon and Michelle Monaghan especially, who seems to be miscast as a biker chick turned good wife christian.

There are elements, strands that could go places that would interest the viewer, but at it's heart Machine Gun Preacher wants to be a hard hitting drama about the Sudanese and their plight peppered with a bad guy makes good element, and conveniently squished into a film that swings recklessly from cliché to cliché.

4/10

[seanan]

It's a good movie make you thinking.

[julieisbored]

Having read the reviews I was expecting the worst, perhaps thats why I thought it was a pretty good film.
Agreed the time slips are a little off but I found it really moving & was encouraged to look at the project when I got home.
As for Gerard what can I say, no great actor but my sister found him easy on the eye (no accounting for taste)