Courageous 2011

Roger Moore, Orlando Sentinel: Like a pastor so caught up in the moment that he can't see that the air conditioning has given out and the congregation wants to go home, the film travels far beyond its dramatic climax, aiming for an altar call finale. Read more

Keith Staskiewicz, Entertainment Weekly: Devolves into over-the-top drama and a suffocating heavy-handedness. Read more

New York Times: Read more

Paul Brunick, New York Times: Overplotted and understructured, "Courageous" is a slog to get through at 130 minutes. Read more

Nathan Rabin, AV Club: Courageous literally preaches to the converted, delivering ham-fisted messages of responsibility to the most receptive audience possible. Read more

Tom Russo, Boston Globe: It takes a certain touch to pull it off, and here, the serviceable cast just doesn't have it in them. Read more

Frank Scheck, Hollywood Reporter: The performances are effective all around with director Kendrick quite moving in the central role of Adam, the veteran officer, who suffers a horrific family tragedy that sets much of the film's plot in motion. Read more

Gary Goldstein, Los Angeles Times: The many topics raised - gangs, drugs, immigration, absentee parents, poverty - are examined with didacticism and platitudes instead of by mining their inherent complexities. Read more

Nick Schager, Village Voice: Fails to answer the more pressing question of why religious sagas such as this treat subtlety as a sin. Read more