This movie might be one of the most boring and senseless movies I've ever watched. And that it is a Christian movie - I'm a Christian myself, by the way - does not mean that it should not be critiqued. The plot is painfully predictable, and those people who claims that is a realistic and accurate portrayal of how it is to live in an abusive relationship, has quite frankly not any idea of what a real abusive relationship is. (SPOILER) Caleb was not abusive. Yes, he was an egoistic brat, bot abusive? No. He did not hurt Catherine in any way, and Catherine might possibly be the most weak female character I've ever come across in fiction. She does not get what she wants, and her reaction? Senseless, childish crying and wimping. She does not stand up for herself. She does not defend herself. She lets Caleb shout at her, and when he calls her an ungrateful woman - a scene which was unintentionally hilarious because Kirk Cameron just clenched his hands tight to show his anger, and even though he is an unbeliever, he does not utter a cuss or swear word once, which is very very unrealistic - she cries out that she "want's out." She does not even say "I want a divorce." No, just wants out. That scene was just unrealistic, badly acted and more funny and hilarious than tense and serious, which again shows the lack of talent from the Kendricks team. It would be way more realistic and shocking if he said "b**tch" instead of "woman," but oh no, then the movie would just be godless filth condemned straight to hell. Which is why American evangelicals can't make movies, nor should, because they don't even know how to write a good, realistic portrayal of the world in which we live. The couple is not christians, as far as I know, so a cuss word or two would make it far more believable. They act as very devout believers. That's just not believable, and if you think otherwise then frankly you don't have any clue as to how the real world works and are too enclosed in your evangelical Christian bubble to even begin to understand the outside world.

What Catherine did was just as bad as Caleb's actions. I mean, she cheats on him by flirting with a doctor? She does not have any feelings left for Caleb, and she does not reciprocate or thank him once, so for what I've seen, I would say he is entitled to be angry at her. He complains in the movie that Catherine does not respect him, and he is right. She does not respect him once! Nor twice! And the fight scenes between the couples is just, God ... That is the most unrealistic representation of marital discourse I have ever seen. I come from a divorced home, and my parents had often fought, and I can assure that it was way more tense and way more harsh than what is represented in this movie. It is too watered down and that destroys the redeeming qualities, because it gets too sugarcoated and unrealistic, and all the scenes which is meant to be taking serious, just falls flat as dumb and childish.

This is a great movie for christians already enclosed in their bubble isolated from the rest of the world. But the rest of us demands far higher artistic standards than what this movie has to offer. Don't go see it. It is a waste of both your time and your money.

Before I review this film, I think you should know how I'm approaching this. I'm an Evangelical Quaker (basically, a Christian who believes that you can reach anyone by being understanding, compassionate, and loving without thumping their head with a Bible) and my father, at one time, was a pastor of a church plant. My faith, even though I abandoned it for about six months and became an Objectivist (an atheist who believes in individualism), has gotten me far in life. I suffer from Bipolar disorder, and if you know anything about that would know that having this illness is a truly horrible thing. God is the only thing in my life that has been constantly helping me out in times of crisis. I have seen and been in relationships torn apart by addictions. I also want to be a film director someday. On top of that, I write short stories and novels in my free time. I've studied the craft of good storytelling and I can recognize it when I see it.

Now... on to the review... To put it as blunt as possible: Fireproof is for Christians who are really well off in their faith and have not encountered anything truly wounding to them. It's not their fault, I know, but the fact that film makers are making money off of them for money really ticks me off. Christians are a really easy market to milk. Every artist knows that. Why? Well, make a mediocre movie that's politically correct, doesn't offend anyone, and put Jesus' name in it and you'll soon find out. People, especially Christians, are so easily mislead to believe that just because the people who made the movie share their beliefs that it must be good even though the film's clearly bad. I love the premise of it. The idea of sticking by your partner and helping him or her out because you know that it can work out in the end is really rare nowadays. But they deliver it so poorly that it's laughable. And if you think that I'm being somehow "anti-Christian" and that this movie is flawless, let me point out all the things in this movie that are flawed: 1) The conversations between the firefighters is so unrealistic. No curse words at a fire department filled with men? I mean... really? 2) If a guy found out that his wife was flirting with someone at the office with an intent on cheating, his first response should be to take a shotgun, go down where he works and stick it under his chin and say something like: "I'm going to blow your brains all over the wall if you touch her again." You do not show him your wedding ring and say, "Stay away from her or... or... I'll say something even more mean!" Whoo! You tell him, Mr. Firefighter! You tell that mean doctor! 3) You do not get over addictions instantly after being converted. It's a long and hard process. That is a myth that this movie is producing that I have a huge problem with. 4) People do NOT treat you with respect for getting religion of any kind. They will manipulate, mock, and even threaten you for your faith.

Every time Christians tell me this is one of the greatest movies ever made, I die a little inside. But when a truly Christian movie comes along (like Walk the Line or The Road), they ignore it because people say it isn't "Christian" enough. Nonbelievers clearly see the contradictions in that. These are the types of Christian movies that people should look up to instead of this trash:

Tender Mercies (1983) Deals with the theme that some people need to be polished with love in order to change.

The Road (2009) Deals with the theme of persevering in the harshest circumstances presented to you. This was marketed towards Christians to show how the world will be like when the church is next to non-existent. The father-son relationship is a metaphor for passing the torch on to the next generation.

I Am Legend (2007) Deals with the theme of losing everything in your life and then regaining it again and realizing God's love.

The Exorcism of Emily Rose (2005) Asks the question of how people ignore God when they have seen the Devil.

Walk the Line (2005) Again, deals with the theme that some people need to be polished with love in order to change. Christians complained this wasn't "Christian" enough even though it clearly shows Johnny Cash's faith after he's gotten clean through his actions.

Signs (2002) Deals with the theme of losing everything and losing faith. In this case, a preacher losing his wife. If you hate M. Night Shyamalan a lot, ignore the fact that he made this movie. You'll thank me for it.

I could go on and on. The point? These movies were well done, had great quality, and produced a very strong Christian message. Churches ignored them because they weren't up to their impossible standard of being politically correct and non-offensive and still having good quality. It just can't happen. Why are Christians so afraid to show the brutality of life without God? It doesn't make sense to me... and it never will.

I could go on and on about this, but I think truly open-minded people, no matter what their faith, will get what I'm saying.

God bless, -HorrorWriter7493

I am a born-again Christian. I am also somewhat of a film snob who counts movies among his favorites that are decidedly R rated (I have no problem with sin being presented in movies as long as it's not presented as something good), and some of my favorites are over 100 years old. Just to let you know where this review is coming from.

With "Fireproof" the Kendrick brothers have matured. Their first film, "Flywheel," was a wonderful story with almost no budget, and amateurishly done. Then came "Facing the Giants," which was pretty good but ultimately forgettable. "Fireproof" finally puts together solid production values, mostly topnotch acting, and a very nicely written script that includes some clever plot twists.

Yes, it is explicitly Christian in its message. Yes, it upholds the sanctity of marriage and celebrates a man fighting for all he's worth to win the love of a wife who's filing for divorce. Yes, there are two or three moments where the sentimentality goes just a bit over the top.

If any of these statements about "Fireproof" close your mind to it, that's your loss, but God bless you as you pass on this one to go see something lighter or edgier. But I promise you, I was very pleasantly surprised at just how good this film is.

Highly recommended for anyone old enough to appreciate the opposite sex.