The Forge is a faith-based film that has stuck around for a long time in theaters… and it came out on paid streaming recently. I figured I’d catch up to it at home (when it hits a reasonable price)… but I had enough today and glanced at the time, checked showtimes, and realized I was just in time to run out and catch an afternoon showing.

The flick is about a good but shiftless nineteen year old who has trouble pealing himself away from video games to get a job. He winds up meeting the owner of a sporting goods company who takes him under his wing, first as a mentor, and then as a disciple of Jesus. The kid turns his life around through hard work and the lord.

This is a pretty good drama when it’s about a young man trying to get his life in order. Find a job, get a job, keep a job… and take good life lessons from an upright citizen looking out for his best interest. This aspect of the story is good because you can basically see where its going but the path is unknown.

But when it goes full faith-based where good people get help from good people and they get down on their knees for the Lord… that’s not as interesting. To its credit, the version of Christianity they trade in is not about victim complexes or demonizing everyone else.

The problem is that it’s not dramatic. Everything can be resolved by surrendering to the Lord, a prayer circle, or forgiveness. And certainly these are well-meaning traits, but they aren’t very interesting as a film unless, I suppose, you are a hard core believer and see any kind of conversion as deeply impactful. Me? Watching endless minutes of praise doesn’t make for good drama.

But, hey, the film ends with a genuinely perplexing sequence of preparing sporting goods for shipment. It’s a pretty dramatic and even inspirational sequence but its also very weird. In what other movie would boxing goods and remote controlling robots be the epic finale? But I give it credit for going different. Cardboard boxes vs. predictable overwrought melodrama is a good thing too.

The Forge is half a good film and totally 5 stars for those who already bought into this depth of religiosity. To me, it’s a solid story that kind of flounders with its predictable and redundant faith-based scenes. But at least it isn’t judgmental or self-righteous which makes it at least glance-at-my-watch watchable.

Score: 73