User reviews

This is a movie about heroes who stood up for freedom – in this case, religious freedom. It's not easy to make a heroic film, but this movie comes reasonably close. There are a few awkward camera movements, and some of the younger actors don't always make the most convincing performances. However, the overall effort is quite moving and convincing. Considering these events actually happened and these are historical figures not fictional characters makes the movie that much more compelling. Some reviewers have argued that the movie is "too Catholic." Considering these were Catholics fighting, eventually, fighting violently, for their freedoms, these criticisms reveal more about the reviewers' prejudices and biases than it does about the film. This is an important, thought-provoking film about freedom that should be seen and discussed.

"For Greater Glory" is an amazing film. It's an inspiring retelling of the the Cristeros War against the Mexican government for its having outlawed the Catholic Church and its executions and massacres of those who dared to live out their religious freedom.

The cast is top-notch and the direction pretty competent, keeping the story weaved among intimate scenes and battle scenes. Filled with poignant moments of the lives of the protagonists and of those close to them and with the heroic - as well as less than heroic - skirmish scenes.

It's a movie about taking sides courageously, how conflicting this can be in a man's conscience, especially when it involves the spilling of blood. If anything, the personal struggle of many characters getting into this war and carrying it out made the film shine. From the young boy who faced martyrdom for the Catholic faith - Jose Sanchez del Rio, beatified in 2005 - to his uncle, a cowardly mayor too enamored of power to save him.

I cannot help thinking how timely this film is when the Church and Catholics - for now - are again being curtailed in their freedoms by a government with its own agenda, this time the American government trying to limit the Church's ministry and to force Catholics to violate their consciences. Like Calles, Obama has presented the same arguments to justify his unjustifiable actions against the Church, Catholics and their institutions. It's government might over faith, the collective over the individual, an usurpation of the state to serve not the people, but an ideology.

PS: disregard most professional critics' reviews for they seem to have a chip on their shoulder so big that it blinds them to the artistic and cinematographic qualities of this film.

An under the radar film about a subject I knew nothing about that absolutely floored me. It's a high quality film with flat out superb performances that makes you contemplate and appreciate faith and freedom like few films have ever managed to convey. Yes, it is a faith based film. If that offends some, then this isn't the movie or the subject for you. Unlike other faith based efforts, this effort is not cheesy or ham-fisted or even preachy.

It's the tale of the Cristeros War (1926-1929); a war by the people of Mexico against the Mexican government who cracked down in brutal ways against the Catholic Church and against religious freedom in general. Andy Garcia is Oscar level good here as General Gorostieta, a man with limited faith who responds and masterfully leads the fight for freedom. It's intense and, at times, surprisingly violent and impactful. This movie delivers real emotion and doesn't dodge tough questions about faith. It delivers an exceptional balance of showing why people behave and choose to engage in certain behaviors even when such behavior is contrary to the core of their belief system.

One thing is certain; no one who has faith will take it or their religious freedom for granted after watching and EXPERIENCING this film. That's how it registered with me at any rate.

"We are now an army, we are an army fighting for Gad and for the church and for absolute freedom." A true story about the Cristeros War (1926-1929) which was a war by the people of Mexico against the atheistic Mexican government led by president Plutarco Elias Calles. Enrique Gorostieta Velarde (Garcia) leads a revolt of Mexican Christians against the government in hopes he can restore Mexico to the faith filled nation it once was. I will start by saying that this is a very good movie and entertaining to watch. I know nothing about the history or how accurate this is but I enjoyed it. The only problem that I had with the movie is that I really felt no connection to any of the characters and when one would get killed or have a serious problem I wasn't invested enough for it to have the impact that it was trying for. That said it doesn't really take away from the enjoyment of the movie but I didn't really feel the emotion that I think the filmmakers were trying for. Garcia is a great choice for this but he seems to play the character he played in "Godfather 3" or the Ocean's movies but a Mexican soldier version and he came off a little too cocky, but like I said I don't know the history and the real guy may have been that way too. It may seem like I'm rambling but the movie was over 2 hours long and it felt it and some parts I found it hard to stay focused on but overall this is a good watch and in my opinion one of the best releases this week. Overall, a good western/war movie that is pretty heavy on the religious issues. I give it a B+.

Revolutions are never easy. And sometimes they demand sacrifice. Sacrifice of many things to achieve something for a later generation. It's a tough movie to watch for many reasons, but it's also not taking prisoners (literally at times), which you might like about it or dismiss. But that's how things can go down, when there is uproar.

We might live in societies today that don't have to fight for certain things, but it's not too much of a stretch to see why and how some had to fight for freedom of speech or religion or other things. The movie depicts a real life event/incidents, which might appall some viewers from the get go, but if you like Drama and History in general, this might be for you. I haven't read too much about how things went down exactly, but I reckon this movie made me aware of a chapter I hadn't had heard about before ...

Outstays its welcome. Becomes Christian propaganda especially in end credits. Some fine acting but never get really involved with characters. Important and interesting historical struggle best read about in Wikipedia!

This historical chapter plays close to home as my great-grandfather was morally involved and supported the resistance. He was a founder and active participant of the Knights of Columbus in Mexico City. This society played an active financial role in the rebellion. Our family business was also affected by this persecution in Mexico, as he could not sell his most important products, which at the time were altar candles for the churches. In the early years of this escalating situation, my great grandfather, a deeply religious man and friend of the church, hid at his candle factory, church artwork and religious valuables to keep them from being plundered and destroyed by government officials.

On more than one occasion, based on anonymous tips, government troops personally led by General Plutarco Elías Calles, raided both my great-grandfathers business and his home, looking for firearms and the illegal church valuables that he was hiding. Unable to find anything, the General made my great-grandfather kneel to the ground and shoved his pistol into the back of my great-grandfathers head. Why he never pulled the trigger or why they were never able to find anything either at the candle factory or at his home, was all God's work. At my great-grandfather's home, there were firearms in plain sight standing behind the open doors to the inner rooms… supplied to him by the US Embassy in Mexico City.

This world is really-really small… as fate would have it be, my brother-in-law married the great-granddaughter of General Plutarco Elías Calles… Although my father knows about this, I never mentioned anything to my grandfather about the subject… Thank God nothing more serious ever happened… there are absolutely no ill-feelings between us, and it sure makes a heck-of-a-good family story for generations to come!

I hope you have an opportunity to see the movie, it is an important chapter of Mexican history which has been institutionally hidden for almost 100 years now.

This is a one sided docudrama about the Cristeros War in Mexico (1926-1929), a war between Catholics against the atheist Government of Mexico.

Andy Garcia stars as the leader of the revolt Enrique Gorostieta. The big problem with this is his acting style. He is too cold and too regal. It's hard to maintain his humanity while he seems to be above it all.

There is no doubt that this is a one-sided history. Are they putting on propaganda? Just consider that the production company and money has a lot of Catholic and supporters' fingers on it. Keep that in mind, and watch a pretty good movie.

This movie is complicated. It is beautifully shot and has a decent cast but misses the mark badly. This is a story of black(supporters of the church) vs white (the atheistic gov't), there is no grey. The white guys kill the black guys in grotesque manners and spout such strident anti church rhetoric that is reciprocated with beatific exaltations by the black guys that after 10 mins. of screen time all the character become caricatures. It should have been filmed in Spanish to start. I understand, this movie was meant to appeal to white, middle class and up American christians. As well, all the people that matter in this movie are dressed impeccably and appear to have a higher standard of living than most Americans today. All the peasants are blurry background figures. If you are a christian who likes to think it is a us vs them world then this is the movie for you. All others beware.

Truth is, I put off watching this movie for a long time. I'm not exactly sure why, but even though I love Andy Garcia, I just wasn't that impressed with the trailer. Well, I just finished watching it and let me tell you it's a great movie!!! Even in bad movies, Andy Garcia is impressive, but the surprise in this film was Oscar Issac! He was superb.

This film reminded me a tad bit of "Glory". It had an all star cast and a story line that kept you interested, gave you one or two surprises and was full of sincere moments. Even though I would of liked to see a little more action, the action it delivered was sufficient. The sets and costumes were right on, they did a good job of bringing you into that time period. I would of never of known anything about the Cristeros War and it's heroes if not for this movie. Overall it's an excellent film that everyone should see.

This film becomes a story that mislead peopl's vision of the situation in Mexico. The Mexican Revolution had started in 1910 and after the 1917 constitution the situation was becoming almost normal. However, the Presidential power remained strong and with little checks and balances. President Plutarco Díaz Calles in his short term used some constitutional laws repressed freedom of cult to the very limit.Historians point to his past as an unrecognized child in the eyes of the Catholic church. The guerras cristeras were rebellions in some of the Mexican states, fighting for freedom or Christian traditions. They were over by 1929: the next prseident cancelled the abusive laws and an agreement was soon reached. The overall situation in the country is not reflected by this film. While the 1929 Wall Street Crash led most counties to the Dark thirties, with increasing poverty and dictatorships, Mexico's society, on the contrary, grew even more stable, economically sound, socially advanced and living in in justice. The film openly hides the whole process. You can see the forest for the trees.

I'm not familiar with the actual events and can therefore not comment on the authenticity of the story, but I've done some research and it pretty much does the events justice.

Since I'm generally not fond of religious movies, I thought this wouldn't appeal to me, but I found myself more and more intrigued by the film. As it progressed, I was drawn deeper into the action and drama. This was an interesting blend of war, action, western and drama. The cinematography was really great. The religious theme aside, you're bound to enjoy this film for the sheer action adventure and high level of entertainment it provides!

Andy Garcia was very good, but Mauricio Kuri stole the show as 14-year old Jose. Man, he was really good!! This is a very sad yet inspiring story. Loved it!

The movie was edited poorly in that it lingered too long on some unimportant scenes and cut short on some important scenes. This disjoints the movie a bit and doesn't allow for a true connection between the viewer and the characters. However, the acting is strong with some key moments of superb emotive performances, but more often the camera cuts and changes the mood too quickly.

The subject is very interesting, as we here in America are facing the question about religious freedom today. It gives the viewer an opportunity to see what others have done faced with this question, but more importantly 'why' they chose their answer and then acted upon it.

For Greater Glory is worth seeing, it shines a light on a not so well known war.

I just saw For Greater Glory today, and I took away from it an enormous respect for the Catholic faith of the Mexican people. It was a riveting story that I knew nothing about. The young actor who played Jose stole the show, with Father Vega taking a very close second. Definitely worth the time and money to see this movie. It also helped me understand why people defend the right of religious freedom so ferociously in our country when they feel it is being infringed upon by our government. I loved the musical score, and the cinematography - the costumes, the sets, all were excellent. I agree with some other reviews that there were a few things that could have been trimmed in the edit room - I feel we could have lost all the scenes with the US Ambassador without missing much. I hope you go see this movie.

Released in 2012 and directed by Dean Wright, "For Greater Glory" (subtitled "The True Story of Cristiada") chronicles the Cristeros War in central Mexico, a veritable civil war from 1926-1929 where Catholic citizens had no recourse but to take a bold stand against the atheistic Mexican government, ran by President Calles (Rubén Blades), who sought to stamp out Catholicism by forbidding masses, destroying churches and exiling or murdering priests. Andy Garcia plays the Cristeros general, Enrique Gorostieta, who's initially an atheist, but is eventually inspired by the events. Oscar Isaac and Eduardo Verástegui play his subordinates while Eva Longoria plays his wife. Peter O'Toole is on hand as an aging priest while Mauricio Kuri appears as a boy moved to join the Cristeros. All the main characters are based on real-life people.

While this is a historical war/drama/action movie it could also be designated as a Western, albeit a Mexican Western. But don't expect some of the stereotypical staples of most Westerns, like quick-draw showdowns, saloons, cavalry vs. Indians, saloon girls, stampedes and cattle drives. This is a realistic detailing of the events with quite a bit of action and an occasional eye-rolling dramatic sequence.

Some of the comments by critics are clueless in that they try to argue that the actual situation in Mexico at the time was more complex than the movie shows. Ya think? What else is new? All movies based on historical events try to simplify the situation to make the story palatable to viewers. Critics also argue that the movie's too "one-sided" and some even attempt to defend Calles' tyrannical oppression. Seriously? No matter how you slice it he tried to stamp out a deep-rooted religion in his country through oppression and murder. He actually thought he could rid the populace of Catholicism in a year's time. He was wrong. He also underestimated the Cristeros and was thoroughly humbled.

By 1929 the Federals had 100,000 troops whereas the Cristeros only had half that, and many of them were women. During the three years of fighting the Federals lost 57,000 soldiers while the Cristeros 'only' lost 30,000. Altogether an estimated 250,000 people lost their lives and the same number fled Mexico.

This is a good movie to remind us that "the government" can easily morph into a tyrannical dictator in a moment's notice if the citizenry isn't vigilant. Consider the USA, for example: If Americans keep electing doofus Demoncraps to high office the so-called Supreme Court will eventually have a libertine majority and, faster than you can blink, Christianity and religious freedom would be eradicated overnight. Suddenly it would be a "hate crime" to say such-and-such is a sin and evangelizing would be outlawed. Make no mistake, it could happen in a heartbeat. Remember in 2014 when the city of Houston subpoenaed pastors' sermons as part of a crackdown on preaching against homosexuality?

The movie was based on the 1976 book The Cristero Rebellion, a chronicle of the war written by French historian Jean Meyer who resides in Mexico, and was naturally approved by Catholic organizations (probably funded to some degree, as well). However, the movie's not completely "one-sided," as critics claim, which is admirable. For instance, President Calles (the "villain") offers peace terms to General Gorostieta (the "good guy") in a secret parley that seems reasonable to me, but the general is too proud to accept them. Once the dust settles the war concludes based on essentially the same pact Gorostieta rejected, with the mediation of the United States ambassador (Bruce Greenwood), who happened to be related to Charles Lindbergh. The USA government then provided Calles with machine guns while Mexico granted protection for America's oil interests. So it's not all black and white, and you have to give kudos to a film that honestly chronicles political & moral ambiguities.

A Mexican production, the movie runs 145 minutes and was shot entirely in Mexico. The locations are awesome, by the way. The screenplay was written by Michael Love. On the DVD there's a 27-minute documentary on the Cristeros War & the movie, which is worth checking out.

GRADE: B

I worry about the poor theology behind some of the lines played up in the trailer: "Men pull the triggers, but God decides where the bullets land." In an effort to emphasize Catholics/Christians as persecuted and under fire, this movie glosses over the fact that the Mexican Bishops did not support the Christeros uprising and neglects the historical roots of the Church's role in Mexican economics and politics which led to the reactionary backlash and persecution of the Church during this time period. The movie Romero might be a worthwhile antidote for those who are discouraged by "Greater Glory." The Knights of Columbus of the United States seemed to be strongly in favor of promoting this movie, possibly because of K of C martyrs who are being considered for sainthood. Given the merger between Christianity and American Nationalism which seems to be emerging so strongly in the USA today, one would hope that Catholics would rise above the fray.

As a Catholic very concerned about the anti-Catholic direction of our society, I wanted to see For Greater Glory. But after reading the reviews on RottenTomatoes, I assumed it would be a good message poorly presented. I could not have been farther from the truth. This was a excellent movie - especially for a directorial debut. Even if you are not Catholic you will find this movie very moving and well done.

Andy Garcia is excellent - he even shows intense emotions. Mauricio Kuri had an outstanding rookie performance. Nestor Carbonell's role was perfect for him. Peter O'Toole was a wonderful surprise if short lived.

Ignore RottenTomatoes - you will not be disappointed!