Not a bad film at all, so I dont get the negative reviews. Yes it is sometimes a bit cliched and sometimes a bit too emotionally over the top with some cheapish effects but I think in the essence it is a very important message the film spreads.
What I found was a bit hard to get into it at the beginning - I didn't know anything about the story before watching the film and usually I dont google a real live story I dont know about before entering the film that portrays that story. Maybe thats why I liked it and connected to it after a while. I think no matter what the quality of the film is - the story is real and it is important that it is shared. Maybe people were expecting a second Brokeback Mountain. I didn't. I expected a tender father-son-story which I got and on the top of this I got a story of much more importance. Ok I stop preaching. Back to the quality of the movie. Yes it was corny at times. Yes it was overwhelmingly sentimental at other points. It however contains some really decent acing. Biggest shout out to Reid Miller who was fantastic. He will go places. Such a beautiful and honest performance. Didn't feel like acting. Major thumbs up!
Mark Wahlberg in the lead was not bad either. He had some really good moments especially towards the end. Still it was not groundbreaking but in his own legacy the performance surely ranks in the Top 10. Also Connie Britton was memorable and nice to see Gary Sinise back with a short but beautiful performance.
I think the film mostly suffered from its direction. I was not on par with some creative decisions. The screenplay was also not out of this world, especially considering the writers involved. Still, and I am going back to preaching. This film is important and in my opinion spread this important message quite effectively.
