Faith-based movies that are released in theaters are never well-reviewed or get much love. This movie is no exception. Although the overall plot of “Overcomer” is well thought-out and very thorough, the actual acting and production of the film are lacking much-needed funds, better directing and more experienced writers.
The cast is full of minor actors who have little to no experience in acting in movies or television shows. Alex Kendrick is the main actor and sports coach in “Overcomer”. Kendrick is also the director of the movie. His brother, Stephen Kendrick, a well-known Christian film writer and producer, produced the movie. The main female actress is Aryn Wright-Thompson, a young girl with asthma and a goal to run for the cross-country team.
“Overcomer” is the story of a high school basketball coach who is forced into coaching the cross country team for the Christian school he and his wife work at. This is right after a power plant where most people work in the small town closes and people are forced to relocate for work and take their kids with them, leaving the school without a football or basketball team.
There are films that are faith-based with an underlying message about whatever religion they are preaching in that movie, however, “Overcomer” is much less subtle about their ideologies. “Overcomer” spends a very long time in the two-hour film talking about religion. What the script actually was saying wasn’t bad, it was how much of it there was. They spent too long on the praying aspect and finding God, and not enough on the actual storyline, making it feel very rushed at some points and slow at others.
The overall plot and summary of the movie were very fleshed out and well done; with a runner who has asthma and a stealing problem, and a basketball coach without a team, the story comes together really well. However, the acting and script for “Overcomer” lacked experience and made the film just not worth seeing. If someone were to watch this while at home and doing other things, it may have been okay, but because of the quality, it just wasn’t worth the money to see in theaters.
5/10
Taylor Snow // News Editor
