Today’s Prayer Focus
David and Goliath
MPA Rating:
for some violent content.
for some violent content.
| Moral Rating: | not reviewed |
| Moviemaking Quality: |
|
| Primary Audience: | Family Teens Adults |
| Genre: | Christian Adventure Bible Drama |
| Length: | 1 hr. 42 min. |
| Year of Release: | 2015 |
| USA Release: |
April 3, 2015 (select) DVD: October 20, 2015 |
Relevant Issues
SLINGS and stones as weapons in the Bible
courage and faith
FEAR, Anxiety and Worry—What does the Bible say? Answer
about David
about King Saul
trust in God
giants in the Bible
War in the Bible
David and Goliath coloring page
CHANGE THE WORLD—A single man or woman can help change the world. Read about some who did with faith and God’s help…
Jesus Christ, Noah, Abraham, Joseph, Moses, and David
| Featuring |
Miles Sloman … David Jerry Sokolosky … Goliath Makenna Guyler … Michal Paul Hughes … King Saul Joseph Emms … Eliab Richard Summers-Calvert … Abinadab Jared Morgan … Jaggar Tom Bonington … Nasib Adam Wittek … Swordsmith Jujo Ballo … Bulgo See all » |
| Director | Timothy A. Chey — “Suing the Devil” (2011), “The Genius Club” (2006) |
| Producer |
Fallen State Films RiverRain Productions |
| Distributor | RiverRain Productions |
“Against all odds, one man will rise”
Here’s what the distributor says about their film: “David and Goliath looks at one of the most powerful and beloved Bible stories of all time. The film focuses on the early life of David who fought against the Philistine giant, Goliath, against all odds.
The fierce warrior Goliath is sent to track down a foretold king of the Israelites. A young shepherd David is thrust into an epic chase and adventure fighting for his own life, the lives of his loved ones and eventually the lives of his people. The story climaxes in a battle of literal Biblical proportions between the young man and the giant sent to destroy him.
Shot in North Africa and in studios in London. The tallest man in Canada (7’8”) plays Goliath.”
See list of Relevant Issues—questions-and-answers.
Positive
Positive—Everyone in my group came out of the theater bouncing with joy… In my opinion, it’s one of the best Bible films ever made… It’s a just plain great film, with a little bit of something for everyone, including a rich historical plot, vibrant characters, great setting, and plenty of fabulously choreographed battle scenes.
The film is also topical for today’s society, for example: “Why is terrorism so popular in the Middle East today?”
People get really, and I mean really, offended by talks of God. And this movie has plenty of this… maybe they were not forewarned and went in thinking it was “Noah.”
I. This film requires no introduction You know the story of David and Goliath, I’m sure.See all »
Moral rating: Excellent! / Moviemaking quality: 5
The film is also topical for today’s society, for example: “Why is terrorism so popular in the Middle East today?”
People get really, and I mean really, offended by talks of God. And this movie has plenty of this… maybe they were not forewarned and went in thinking it was “Noah.”
I. This film requires no introduction You know the story of David and Goliath, I’m sure.See all »
Moral rating: Excellent! / Moviemaking quality: 5
Erin Markoff, age 45 (USA)
Positive—I enjoyed this film a lot—inspiring, maybe not totally for the acting abilities, but this didn’t bother me, and not as bad as some people say it was. The story and overall quality of the film was good enough to not be bothered by perhaps not Oscar® winning performances, however the main characters still did a pretty good job, in my opinion.
I liked the simplicity of this film and much better than any recent Hollywood attempts at portraying Biblical accounts. This was more on a par with the 1956 “The Ten Commandments” epic. Some of the comments I have read about this film where one person was worried about the actors being Caucasian or something. Get over yourself please and stop being so ridiculous.
Moral rating: Excellent! / Moviemaking quality: 5
I liked the simplicity of this film and much better than any recent Hollywood attempts at portraying Biblical accounts. This was more on a par with the 1956 “The Ten Commandments” epic. Some of the comments I have read about this film where one person was worried about the actors being Caucasian or something. Get over yourself please and stop being so ridiculous.
Moral rating: Excellent! / Moviemaking quality: 5
David, age 40 (United Kingdom)
Negative
Negative—We felt deceived by prior reviews. So, let’s just be honest. Visually stimulating? No. Where $50 million was spent baffles me. It was not a compelling movie to spend $20.80 for two people. I felt David was the only professional actor. Sadly, most of the viewers in the theater with us left. We watched it in its entirety.
Yes, all viewers laughed at the acting. The dialog between actors was too comical. The added horse neighing sound over and over was annoying. Constant storm brewing seemed excessive and not realistic. Yelling at Goliath from the mountain “will you shut up” did not sound like biblical times. See all »
Moral rating: Good / Moviemaking quality: ½
Yes, all viewers laughed at the acting. The dialog between actors was too comical. The added horse neighing sound over and over was annoying. Constant storm brewing seemed excessive and not realistic. Yelling at Goliath from the mountain “will you shut up” did not sound like biblical times. See all »
Moral rating: Good / Moviemaking quality: ½
Angela C, age 48 (USA)
Negative—I hate to say this about a “bible movie” especially when a biblical movie is so desperately in today’s society, but this movie is an embarrassment to watch! The actors are AWFUL! I cannot believe that this made it off the cutting room floor! The lack of authentic race casting and quality acting made it painful to watch! It needs to be pulled from all theaters immediately! The poor quality takes away from the biblical story.
Moral rating: Good / Moviemaking quality: none
Moral rating: Good / Moviemaking quality: none
Rachael, age 44 (USA)
Negative—I went to support Christian filmmakers, actors, the spreading of God’s Word. Not minutes into the film, I fought the urge to walk out. The acting was very poor, the characters portrayed in such an inefficient manner. To represent God’s story without excellence is an insult to what He requires of us. How are Christian films to be taken seriously, by believers and non-believers alike if efforts are not without blemish; especially us, we must far exceed expectations. How is Christian film to garner the backing required if the story is not portrayed in the best manner, if the makers are not concerned about not releasing, if the end result is lacking in any manner.
I was embarrassed that the selection of actors went against portraying the culture of the day. As a Caucasian, I felt the insult for others. How can one expect to reach the masses if you exclude them from the story, the story they were a part of; this is one example of the division that takes place even among Christians. We are one world, let’s always live it. I, too, wondered where all that money was spent.
Moral rating: Good / Moviemaking quality: 1
I was embarrassed that the selection of actors went against portraying the culture of the day. As a Caucasian, I felt the insult for others. How can one expect to reach the masses if you exclude them from the story, the story they were a part of; this is one example of the division that takes place even among Christians. We are one world, let’s always live it. I, too, wondered where all that money was spent.
Moral rating: Good / Moviemaking quality: 1
Wendy Bauer, age 61 (USA)
Negative—This movie is a disservice to the story it attempts to depict. The very poor acting, incredibly bad directing and simplistic, repetitive dialogue put a very poor face on an important Biblical story. To say that this movie cost $50 million has to be a misrepresentation. I, along with others in the theatre, laughed at the dialogue, the constant milling around of extras in the scenes walking hither and yon through the scenes, horses walking in front of the character scenes as they were talking, over and over and over and over further brought this movie to its knees. This movie could have been filmed in a week and perhaps was.
I cannot think of a “Christian” biblical movie worse than this one. The only salvageable thread was the constant adherence by David regarding God’s power and sovereignty. Spending anything beyond rental, once it comes out, is a waste of hard earned money.
Moral rating: Better than Average / Moviemaking quality: ½
I cannot think of a “Christian” biblical movie worse than this one. The only salvageable thread was the constant adherence by David regarding God’s power and sovereignty. Spending anything beyond rental, once it comes out, is a waste of hard earned money.
Moral rating: Better than Average / Moviemaking quality: ½
Ken, age 66 (USA)
Negative—This was so bad and the acting so poor, I thought it must have been a spoof, and not a funny one at that. The characters lacked any depth at all and were totally unbelievable. I couldn't watch more than ten minutes before skipping further in, but it didn’t get any better. The script was terrible; I mean really embarrassingly terrible, as was the music. What a waste of money.
Moral rating: Offensive / Moviemaking quality: none
Moral rating: Offensive / Moviemaking quality: none
Andy, age 61 (United Kingdom)
Negative—Please, Christians, save yourself the money and just read the story in the Bible. I used to think “Ishtar” was the worst movie I would ever see. That award has unfortunately been transferred to “David and Goliath.” I was embarrassed for believers everywhere.
I love the story of D and G, and to think of it put into a $50 million movie excited me. Oh my… beyond terrible. I don’t know Timothy Chey. He might be a good director. If that’s the case, he must have had a mental lapse on this one. I don’t have adequate words to describe the agony of sitting through this debacle. Just awful from the intro to the credits.
I’m a professional musician in Christian music. The music in this film is so annoying I wished I could push the “mute” button somewhere. Then again, it seemed to fit the overall disaster of the film. Just the worse piece of cinema I could ever hope to experience.
I may buy the DVD for $5 just for the comedic effect for my adult children to watch. Sorry for the negativity, but you are throwing money away if you hope to be entertained by this film, unless you’re there for a laugh. God help us do better than this.
Moral rating: Good / Moviemaking quality: ½
I love the story of D and G, and to think of it put into a $50 million movie excited me. Oh my… beyond terrible. I don’t know Timothy Chey. He might be a good director. If that’s the case, he must have had a mental lapse on this one. I don’t have adequate words to describe the agony of sitting through this debacle. Just awful from the intro to the credits.
I’m a professional musician in Christian music. The music in this film is so annoying I wished I could push the “mute” button somewhere. Then again, it seemed to fit the overall disaster of the film. Just the worse piece of cinema I could ever hope to experience.
I may buy the DVD for $5 just for the comedic effect for my adult children to watch. Sorry for the negativity, but you are throwing money away if you hope to be entertained by this film, unless you’re there for a laugh. God help us do better than this.
Moral rating: Good / Moviemaking quality: ½
Terry, age 61 (USA)
Negative—I can barely believe that $50 million, if as reported, was spent on making this. The acting was from the 50s, stilted, boring, weak. It was the same scene repeated endlessly;”I’ll kill him”—”No David don’t do it.” It was poor pantomime, and dreadfully listless acting. Judah didn’t have weapons till the last scene. Even the actors were bored. We watched till the end, in a hypnotic trance, but, no, it didn’t get better.
Moral rating: Good / Moviemaking quality: ½
Moral rating: Good / Moviemaking quality: ½
Joe Of The Coutts, age 77 (Scotland)
PLEASE share your observations and insights to be posted here.
The whole premise about the film is having faith in God even when things look hopeless. The person who plays King Saul, David’s Brother, and the Philistine villain portrays their roles fairly well. The actor who plays Goliath is decent, but is very monotone as he spouts the same phrases over and over. See all »
My Ratings: Moral rating: Good / Moviemaking quality: 3