''Facing the Giants'' is a 2006 American
Christian drama
Drama is the specific mode of fiction represented in performance: a play, opera, mime, ballet, etc., performed in a theatre, or on radio or television.Elam (1980, 98). Considered as a genre of poetry in general, the dramatic mode has b ...
sports film
A sports film is a film genre in which any particular sport plays a prominent role in the film's plot or acts as its central theme. It is a production in which a sport, sporting event, athlete (and their sport), or follower of sport (and the s ...
directed by and starring
Alex Kendrick
Alexander Kendrick (born June 11, 1970) is an American pastor, film writer, producer, director and actor, best known for directing and starring in notable faith-based films, including ''Facing The Giants'', ''War Room'', '' Overcomer'', '' Coura ...
. The supporting cast was composed of volunteers from
Sherwood Baptist Church
Sherwood Baptist Church is a Baptist church located in Albany, Georgia. It is affiliated with the Southern Baptist Convention.
History
Sherwood Baptist Church began meetings in the US Army Reserve building in 1955, now First Baptist Church Mis ...
, and it is the second film that
Sherwood Pictures
Sherwood Pictures is an American independent Christian film production company in Albany, Georgia, United States. It is unusual among production companies in that it is a ministry of a local church, Sherwood Baptist Church. The company uses mostl ...
has done. Shot in
Albany, Georgia
Albany ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Georgia. Located on the Flint River, it is the seat of Dougherty County, and is the sole incorporated city in that county. Located in southwest Georgia, it is the principal city of the Albany, Georgia m ...
, the film tells an underdog story about
American football
American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team wi ...
from a
Christian worldview. The film made $10.2 million on a $100,000 budget.
Plot
In 2003, Grant Taylor (Alex Kendrick) is the head football coach of the Shiloh Christian Academy Eagles and had yet to make the state playoffs or even post a winning record in his six-year tenure. After his seventh season begins with a three-game losing streak, a key player leaves for another school, and the remaining players' fathers begin to agitate for his firing. This is not the only problem Grant faces; his home has a leaking roof, his appliances are breaking down, and his car is an unreliable embarrassment. Then, crushingly, he learns that he is the reason that his wife, Brooke, cannot become pregnant.
Suffering intense emotional turmoil, Grant stays up all night praying and studying scripture. Finally, his old football coach inspires him to create a new coaching philosophy and praises God regardless of on-field results. At the same time he influences his players to give far greater effort and tells them they can win under God's guidance. The improved attitudes of his players influence the rest of the school. From then on, the Eagles win all their remaining regular season games and qualify for the state playoffs.
The Eagles lose their playoff opener but are awarded the win by forfeit after their opponent used ineligible players. The Eagles then advance all the way to the state championship game against the three-time and defending state champion Richland Giants. The Giants race out to a 14-0 lead, but the Eagles manages to tie the game at the start of the second half. The Giants tack on another touchdown and a field goal before the Eagles manage to score another touchdown.
As the clock winds down, the Giants come within one yard of sealing the game with a touchdown. Defensive lineman Brock Kelley is exhausted and begs someone else to lead, but Grant encourages him to give him four more downs. Brock agrees, and the Eagles manage to get a sack, a stop, and a pass block, taking it to 4th down. In a bit of arrogance, Richland head coach Bobby Lee Duke, insisting on a touchdown to put the game away (when a kneel down would have sealed the victory), calls for the Giants to go for it. However, Brock causes a fumble, and the Eagles can take it to the 34-yard line with 2 seconds to go.
Grant, realizing again that they cannot outrun or overpower the Giants, decides to take a huge gamble and asks for a 51-yard field goal (into the wind) from kicker David Childers, who was forced to take over when the starting kicker was knocked out early in the second half. David insists he can't kick that far but goes out there anyway. After a rousing speech from Grant, another bit of arrogance by Duke (who calls a timeout to "ice" Childers), and seeing his father Larry Childers, who is a wheelchair user, stand beyond the fence and holding his arms up, David begs for God to help him with the kick. Seemingly in response, the wind suddenly turns favorable, and Grant tells them to kick it. David's kick barely clears the uprights, allowing the Eagles to stun the Giants and win the game.
After the game, Grant tells his players that they are not inferior or lacking in ability and that nothing is impossible with God. Later that night, Brooke reveals that she's finally pregnant, causing Grant to break down in tears of joy. Two years later, it is revealed that they have a young son with another child on the way, and in the interim, the Eagles have won a second state title.
Cast
*
Alex Kendrick
Alexander Kendrick (born June 11, 1970) is an American pastor, film writer, producer, director and actor, best known for directing and starring in notable faith-based films, including ''Facing The Giants'', ''War Room'', '' Overcomer'', '' Coura ...
as Grant Taylor
* Shannen Fields as Brooke Taylor
* Bill Butler as Neil Prater
* Bailey Cave as David Childers
* Steve Williams as Larry Childers
* Tracy Goode as Brady Owens
* Jim McBride as Bobby Lee Duke
* Tommy McBride as Jonathan Weston
* Jason McLeod as Brock Kelley
* Chris Willis as J.T. Hawkins Jr.
* Ray Wood as Mr. Bridges
*
Erin Bethea as Alicia Houston
* David Nixon as Mr. Jones
*
Mark Richt
Mark Allan Richt (born February 18, 1960) is a retired American football head coach, former player, and television analyst. He was the head football coach at the University of Georgia for 15 years and at the University of Miami, his alma mater, ...
as Himself & former coach of Grant Taylor
Most of the cast and crew were members of Sherwood Baptist Church in Albany, Georgia. For example, the role of Bobby Lee Duke, the opposing coach in the state final, was played by Sherwood Baptist associate pastor Jim McBride.
Production
The movie was shot on
high definition digital video tape (using the Panasonic Varicam) and transferred to film.
Using real high school football teams, the football action sequences were shot by the film's
director of photography
The cinematographer or director of photography (sometimes shortened to DP or DOP) is the person responsible for the photographing or recording of a film, television production, music video or other live action piece. The cinematographer is the ch ...
, Bob Scott, who is a veteran
cinematographer for
NFL Films
NFL Productions, LLC, doing business as NFL Films, is the film and television production company of the National Football League. It produces commercials, television programs, feature films, and documentaries for and about the NFL, as well as ...
. Another
NFL Films technician,
Rob Whitehurst, recorded the movie's sound. Principal photography began on April 27, 2004.
Soundtrack
; Track listing
# Come Together -
Third Day
Third Day was a Christian rock band formed in Marietta, Georgia during the 1990s. The band was founded by lead singer Mac Powell, guitarist Mark Lee (both of whom were the only constant members) and Billy Wilkins. Drummer David Carr was the ...
#
Voice of Truth -
Casting Crowns
Casting Crowns is a contemporary Christian and Christian rock band started in 1999 by youth pastor Mark Hall, who serves as the band's lead vocalist, as part of a youth group at First Baptist Church in Downtown Daytona Beach, Florida. They later ...
# Facing the Giants Theme (Score) - Mark Willard, Alex Kendrick
# Finding You -
Bebo Norman
Jeffery Stephen "Bebo" Norman (born May 29, 1973) is a former contemporary Christian musician from Columbus, Georgia, US. His most successful album to date is ''Myself When I Am Real'', which included hit songs "Great Light of the World" and "Fall ...
# The Deathcrawl (Score) - Mark Willard
# Completely -
Ana Laura
# A Gift from God (Score) - Mark Willard
# Come on Back to Me - Third Day
# Never Give Up on Me - Josh Bates
# The Fight (Score) - Mark Willard
# With You - Mark Willard, Mark Harris
# Attempting the Impossible (Score) - Mark Willard, Alex Kendrick
Release
The film was released to DVD in early 2007 and made its television debut on September 21, 2008, on
Trinity Broadcasting Network
The Trinity Broadcasting Network (TBN) is an international Christian-based broadcast television network and the world's largest religious television network. TBN was headquartered in Costa Mesa, California, until March 3, 2017, when it sold its ...
.
Reception
Critical reception
The film received mostly negative reviews from mainstream critics. On
Rotten Tomatoes
Rotten Tomatoes is an American review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee, and Stephen Wang ...
, 16% of critics have given the film a positive review based on 25 reviews, with an average rating of 4.30/10. The site's critics consensus reads, "The tropes of both football and evangelical movies are gracelessly on parade in this banal, insipid drama." On
Metacritic
Metacritic is a website that aggregates reviews of films, TV shows, music albums, video games and formerly, books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted average). Metacritic was created by Jason Dietz, Marc ...
, the film has a weighted average score of 38 out of 100 based on reviews from 4 critics, indicating "generally unfavorable reviews".
Heather Boerner of
Common Sense Media
Common Sense Media (CSM) is an organization that reviews and provides ratings for media and technology with the goal of providing information on their suitability for children. rated the film 3 out of 5 stars, categorizing it as "a heartwarming if overly religious story of faith" and saying its message would "speak to born-again men and their families, but, again, not their less-religious neighbors." Joel Rosenblatt of
The Austin Chronicle
''The Austin Chronicle'' is an alternative weekly newspaper published every Thursday in Austin, Texas, United States. The paper is distributed through free news-stands, often at local eateries or coffee houses frequented by its targeted demogr ...
, on the other hand, rated it 1 out of 5 stars, writing "Its feel-good storyline, shopworn message, and bottomless sermonizing would have played better in Sunday school than on the big screen, which is -- let's face it -- Babylon's turf."
Box office
In its first weekend, the film opened on 441 screens nationwide in the United States.
Despite such a small number of theaters, the film opened in twelfth place with $1,343,537. The film ultimately was shown in over 1,000 theaters and grossed a total of $10,243,159.
The film opened in South Korea on April 16, 2010, eventually grossing $64,828. DVD sales have totaled 2.3 million units sold in 57 countries.
Rating controversy
In May 2006, the producers of ''Facing the Giants'' received notice from the
Motion Picture Association of America
The Motion Picture Association (MPA) is an American trade association representing the five major film studios of the United States, as well as the video streaming service Netflix. Founded in 1922 as the Motion Picture Producers and Distrib ...
(MPAA) that the film would be receiving a "Parental Guidance Suggested" rating, or PG
rating.
''
The Drudge Report
The Drudge Report (stylized as DRUDGE REPORT) is a U.S.-based news aggregation website founded by Matt Drudge, and run with the help of Charles Hurt and Daniel Halper. The site was generally regarded as a conservative publication, though its ow ...
'' picked up the story on June 8, 2006, which sparked a controversy alleging that the film was being given a "PG" rating solely because of its religious theme.
According to the film's producers, they were told the motion picture received a PG rating because of its strong religious themes and because it elevated one religion over another.
The MPAA later explained that ''Facing the Giants'' contains football violence and also deals with the mature topics of infertility and depression.
The Kendrick brothers expected the PG rating because of the movie's mature themes and did not appeal the board's rating.
References
External links
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{{Alex Kendrick
2006 films
2000s sports drama films
American sports drama films
American independent films
High school football films
Films about evangelicalism
Films directed by Alex Kendrick
Films shot in Georgia (U.S. state)
Sherwood Pictures films
Rating controversies in film
Religious controversies in film
Film controversies
Film controversies in the United States
Films set in Georgia (U.S. state)
Films set in 2003
Films set in 2005
Films about Christianity
Religious drama films
Religious sports films
2000s high school films
2006 independent films
2006 drama films
2000s English-language films
2000s American films