muvi-fan-73 Haters will hate calling it mercenary over humanitarian, but I ask you if religion proves out to be a way for one to save innocent lives, give them a decent way to live, feed thousand's, should that be judged.The another thing is the bold move,which shows possessing a weapon for defence and not being hesistated a bit to use it, when caught in tyranny. The corrupt needs to be punished in the language they understand.Last but not the least, an enticing movie portraying good will which needs donations for a good cause. To really know about the organisation accepting such humanities, wait till end credits.

wtmerrett I can't begin to imagine how hard it must be for the people who were born in these regions and have had to try to survive in the situations this film depicts. I applaud Sam Childers for his work and feel this film is a fairly accurate depiction of his work. I understand the Director Marc Forster has many credits to his name and is highly respected. I just don't like his work on this film very much. The wide shots and medium shots seem to be all he used in this picture and as such we didn't get drawn into the characters at all. I did not really care enough about anyone as I didn't get to see who they were. A story that needed telling but a film that could have been much better.

Michael Ledo Based on a true story, the movie opens with a brutal genocidal attack on a village, one where a child is being forced at gunpoint to smash his mother's head...but before that happens we flashback 2 weeks earlier. Sam Childers (Gerard Butler) is getting out of prison. He was quick sex with his wife (Michelle Monaghan) in the car before they make it home to the trailer park. He is upset that his wife is now packing mushrooms and has stopped stripping, but not as upset as I was.Within 5 minutes, Sam reaches a point in his life where he will either die, go back to jail, or find the Jesus he dreads. He opts for the lesser of 3 evils and goes to church with his wife. He finds Jesus, a bar of soap, shampoo, and a shirt with sleeves. When Jesus sends a tornado through central Pa., it created a construction business for Sam, however the only way he can stop chasing the rabbit is to save his buddy. The next thing you know, he is off to Africa.Combining his Christian belief and bad boy past (which, believe it or not the movie downplayed) Sam decides he can help in Sudan and save part of it by building an orphanage (target) in a war zone. He discovers things are not that easy, even with God on your side. Sam becomes obsessed with Sudan to the point it effects his home life. The scenes have low level intensity.This is an excellent film. It is well acted with mediocre editing. This is not a "come to Jesus" film, but the story can not be told without showing that aspect of Sam's life. Indeed, at one point the violence causes Sam to question his faith. The closing credits shows actual film of Sam and his family.F-bombs, brief car sex, no nudity.

Paul Magne Haakonsen "Machine Gun Preacher" tries to tap into the sympathy of the audience with a real life story, but the movie ended up being entertaining for what it was, but it was a mediocre experience at best.The story is about Sam Childers, a reformed criminal and substance abuser, who finds God, builds a church and then goes to Sudan to help the needy in a war-torn country.Personally, I found the story a bit too sappy and too much of a goodie-two-shoes, but then again, I don't buy into the whole Christian concept. But that is a personal preference, of course.Gerard Butler put on a good performance, although it was a bit out of his usual area of acting. But it is nice to see actors branch out to new things and genres.This movie is not the type of movie that you watch more than once. While the work that Sam Childers have done is commendable and commendable, the story in the movie just doesn't have enough weight to support multiple viewings. For me, this movie just didn't pack enough punch to really be a great movie, despite of however larger-than-life compassion for life and selflessness it tried to tell.