When we are disconnected from God, or choose to never really connect with God, we open ourselves to a lot of grief and turmoil. I was reminded of this when I got the chance to view War Room at the request of FishFlix.com, who provided me with a complimentary copy in return for an honest review. FishFlix.com is among the top places on the web for finding Christian and family friendly DVDs, so I’m very excited to be introducing them to you today. Also, I’m happy to share that, along with some of my key take-a-ways, a review of the War Room dvd they sent me; movie from the acclaimed Kendrick brothers, who also produced films like Facing the Giants, Courageous and Fireproof.
Observations and Lessons from War Room
As I was watching War Room, I was reminded of something I observed a few years back while going through scripture. It’s about the strategy the Devil uses to attack our lives. I have taken to calling it “the Devil’s 4 Destructive D’s,” which almost always follow this order.
First, the Devil distracts. That can be in fine print of everyday relationships and goals, or to our relationships with God. Next, he deceives. Whether through simple trickery or elaborate misinformation, we are hoodwinked into thinking something counter to God’s intentions. That’s when the opportunity for the Devil to divide us becomes the most likely. Being distracted and deceived, it is pretty easy for us to withdraw from the fellowship of church, family and other systems of support. And then, it’s really only a matter of time that the Devil will devour us.
I present those destructive D’s because the plot of War Room uses this very formula. You can see the same troupe by studying the story of Adam and Eve being deceived into eating of the apple and ultimately dividing us from God. Fortunately, God will never be defeated and he’s always at work, restoring the proper connections in our lives.
With that understanding, let’s look at the Jordan family as depicted in War Room.
War Room is a Christian movie that’s movie night worthy and a safe forum for most ages for learning the importance of prayer, how to pray and what it means to keep personal and spiritual priorities in proper balance.
The Basic Premise of War Room
Tony and Elizabeth have been married sixteen years. They have a daughter and both have promising careers. They have disputes over money, like many couples, and they care about their daughter. Yet, they are so fixated on producing income for their tight budget, they become distracted from their marriage, their daughter and their relationships with God.
They attend church, but do it on their own terms. Tony is a hotshot sales rep with what seems to be promising career advancement potential. Like Tony, Elizabeth is deceived into thinking all is well. She insists repeatedly to her client, Ms. Clara, that her marriage and life are on stable ground. She is later rattled when the Devil’s deceptions come to light and she realizes her stable ground is pretty shaky after all.
Seeing that the Devil is already moving toward division of her family and way of life, Elizabeth has a decision to make: take no action and let the inevitable devouring begin or take action by connecting to God on a level never thought possible. She knows God is the only answer for countering the work the Devil has been doing in her life, family and home. Fortunately for the Jordan family, she chooses to take action by establishing her own war room after Ms. Clara shows the inside of her own war room.
Ms. Clara continues to play a key role in helping Elizabeth make that connection as she leads by example, shares her testimony, and privately cheers on the Jordan family while praising God for the blessings that result from unexpected circumstances.
Will War Room Be Appropriate for the Whole Family?
We watched this movie as a family – my wife, I and our three daughters ranging in age from seven to twelve. For the most part, all content was appropriate – only a few instances that might have been too mature for young minds. There were a couple “church words” or terms used that might have been a little difficult for younger kids to understand as well – a “calloused heart” for example. As long as you are willing and able to explain that along the way, it presents a great opportunity to teach and provide understanding.
In some places, especially the beginning, the plot runs a bit slow. With a run time of about two hours, it can go a bit long for younger kids. Both of these facts were very noticeable to my wife and I as our youngest kept asking “when do we get to the war part?” Ultimately, though, the movie did engage us all, and it connected quite well for our twelve-year-old.
Does War Room Meet Expectations?
It’s a big time bummer when you are excited to watch a movie and have it fall short of your expectations. As you might have guessed, that happened with my youngest daughter, as she was expecting to see physical battles because of the movie title. Once the hidden “war room” was unveiled and she began to connect the higher purpose of the term, she relented and engaged with the movie.
I do have to confess that it was a bit more passive and “neutered” than I had hoped. That being said, if you have seen movies like Facing the Giants, Courageous, The Love Dare, and Homeless for the Holidays, you’ll see right away that the production quality, acting and plot are very on par with those films.
This DVD has many bonus features, including bloopers, deleted scenes, commentary from the Kendrick brothers, a music video for Steven Curtis Chapman’s ‘Warrior,’ and several other exclusive features.
My Verdict on War Room
I should be clear that I don’t make recommendations based upon anything from a critical standpoint and I only recommend what I personally find to be of value. War Room is a good family film that provides a safe forum for all ages to learn the importance of prayer, how to pray and what it means to keep personal and spiritual priorities in proper balance. The Kendrick brothers do a fine job applying real-life circumstances – such as a flirtatious relationship outside marriage boundaries – without going to the nitty-gritty messiness that might skew or scar young minds. Be prepared, however, to respond to some of the questions such scenarios may provoke.