The Forge

The Forge takes a long time creating any dramatic tension and spends too much time on cliched tropes — the addictive nature of videogames – to make its point.

The struggles in this story are subtle, spiritual, and never melodramatic, but the characters are richly portrayed and deeply engaging... you come away feeling that you know and care about these people surprisingly deeply.

“The Forge” is a Black-presenting Christian film from a group of very conservative White Christian creators about fatherlessness and respectability. I’ll just leave that there.

Preachy, schmaltzy and overlong.

The Forge is a pleasantly formulaic faith-based drama that tends to be preachy and mundane. However, the acting is solid, and the characters are likeable in this story about a young man who finds his identity and purpose.

What the Kendrick brothers have done with their latest film, “The Forge,” is start with a religiously sound foundation and then add layers of strong characters and a storyline designed to resonate with all moviegoers.

Bottom line? The Forge is a preaching-to-the-converted movie, but non-believers who watch might still appreciate the film's themes of growth, compassion, forgiveness, and redemption.

"The Forge" is another winner for the Kendrick Brothers. It is a faith based film that delivers its message and entertains at the same time.

The Forge is far from perfect, but it does serve the purpose of what it is trying to sell to a specific audience.

Faith-based story of a wayward Black youth finds a few genuinely touching moments in between all the Jesus-this and Jesus-that.