Why Do Most Christian Movies Suck?

Dear Christian Movies,

I just recently had the displeasure of watching one of your darlings, Kirk Cameron's "Fireproof" for the first time. I'm sorry, but that movie was awful - and I say that as a firm Christian. I actually wasn't quite sure what you filmmakers were thinking as you were making this movie: it was simply that cliched, contrived, preachy, and disorganized. There was one major plot point about a character who had struck up a relationship with the main protagonist's wife. Turns out, he was already married. Major revelation, am I right? Wrong! That character just kind of....went away. Like, completely disappeared from the movie without a trace. No more scenes, no more anything. Nothing. And I wish I could say that "Fireproof" was a one-time fluke. But no. It wasn't. Christian films, by and large, are just not good. Like at all. Now given, there are some notable exceptions to this rule, namely films like "Father Stu," "Hacksaw Ridge," and "The Passion of the Christ," and some less-well-known and less conventional titles, films like Martin Scorsese's "Silence." But the bad far outweighs the good when it comes to the realm of religious filmmaking, and that has kind of turned me off to the whole idea of them, at least until the filmmakers can break some bad habits they've become so entrenched in. But why can't you Christian films get better marks? Sure, film critics who are more liberal are bound to be harsher on the movies you make, but even I can't look at these movies and ignore the flaws. And that begs the question: to state it bluntly, why are Christian studios seemingly incapable of making good movies, and what needs to change before these movies can improve?

I can shoot holes in the methods you employ all day, but I want to cut to the heart of the matter as to why your films underperform critically instead of laying out a bunch of unrelated reasons. You may have read my article as to why progressive films fail repeatedly (and perhaps you found it amusing. Your turn). And why is that? Well, it's because you care too much about their message and don't care enough about how you present it. And while Christianity and progressivism are two opposing worldviews, your films ultimately fail for the same reason. Christian movies are very goal-oriented (you want to portray a belief system you believe will benefit your audience), and because you focus on your goal too much, you ignore the necessary steps that need to be taken to reach that goal. In short, your films are heavy on theme but embarrassingly light on substance.

To frame it in a more in-depth manner, your movies make two mistakes. The first mistake is this: your writers approach their screenplays with one goal in mind - to make the audience believe something. Now, this is not a bad thing. I'm not one of those guys who says, "Don't force your beliefs on others!" without realizing that by telling someone not to force their beliefs on others, I am, therefore, forcing my beliefs on them. Feel free to try and convince people to follow whatever worldview you believe. However, your story cannot become wrapped up in your bigger ideas. Rather, through the decisions your characters make as your story progresses, the bigger ideas of your film should emerge by themselves naturally. You simply don't understand this concept, and so you try to create a story from an idea rather than letting the story gradually weave an idea together. The second mistake you make is this: your writers preach to the choir and know it. They are already well aware that they will score high marks with audiences that run in your Christian circles, so there is no incentive to try to make their movies better. This is a big mistake. And I'm not saying that you should compromise their beliefs to appeal to secular audiences. Far from it. But they should push the boundaries of what they think they can do with a religious film. Write not a Christian story but rather an excellent story with universal aspects that also happen to have Christian overtones to it and characters who hold their faith near and dear. To cite an example, think Mel Gibson's "Hacksaw Ridge," which I mentioned earlier in this letter. That film performed well with both secular and religious audiences and critics because, while it was explicitly religious, it also demonstrated universal ideas and ideals such as bravery, the weight of taking a life, and not compromising one's morals, even under the harshest of scrutiny.

Given, there are also some other factors that prevent your films from excelling, namely a smaller pool of talent both writing and acting-wise, smaller budgets, a hostile audience, and a variety of other issues, but as we know, small-budget movies have succeeded before. Think "Reservoir Dogs," "Rocky," "Mad Max," "Lost in Translation," "Pulp Fiction," and "Star Wars." Ultimately, there isn't any excuse, on a story-to-story basis, for the shortcomings in a lot of your religious films. They're just bad, and until they address the problems that have made them bad, they will continue to be bad.

Sincerely, a Strong Christian

Colossians 3:17