The War Room (2015)

In the last few years, Christians have suddenly become a movie audience segment worth pursuing by those trying to make money.  Some of it was the astonishing commercial success of Mel Gibson's Passion of the Christ (2004).  But there was at one time, a large audience for Christian-themed films, and while the left has used its control over the popular culture to denigrate Christianity, and many Christian parents have been at least as effective in using divorce to drive their children away from the faith, there is still an audience out there.   The Kendrick Brothers are snapping up the opportunity that many other filmmakers are ignoring, having made Fireproof, Courageous, and now The War Room. 

Fireproof was a bit preachy and heavy-handed for my tastes; Courageous I thought was quite strong, with some marvelous dialog and characterization.  There's one exchange between two of the characters in an alley that reminded me of Abbott & Costello's "Who's On First?"  The War Room is a film that is not going to cross over to a non-Christian audience.  It is a bit preachy, and aimed at emphasizing the importance of prayer at saving marriages in trouble.  It has some very good acting from people you have never heard of, and to their credit, unlike Fireproof and Courageous, where the interracial cast feels a bit forced (what Christianity should be like, and may be in the South by now), The War Room's primary characters are all black.