Caleb Holt is faced with a 40 day challenge “The Love Dare” to save his marriage before it goes down in flames.Worldview 9/10
The worldview behind Fireproof is without a doubt Evangelical Christian. And the only reason I’m not granting it a perfect 10 for a solid worldview is because the way an idea is presented is just as important is the idea itself. In Fireproof the dialogue sometimes gets in the way of the story telling. Rather than making the characters reflect the reality of life with subtext and non-verbal communication, they often come right out and say just exactly what they think and feel. So apart from some subtextual nuances the themes are themselves presented according to a biblical model.
The most prevalent theme is also the most significant to todays marriages. The movie tells us to commit 100% to loving the spouse no matter what with the love of God. In any marriage this “love dare” advice is critical to a life-long growing relationship. There are some great relationship tips and some really good advice is given from their parents and co-workers. Another large part of this theme is sacrifice. Fireproof strongly promotes self-sacrifice in any relationship. It recommends putting your time and efforts into your marriage and removing “Parasites that suck the life out of your marriage”
The Gospel presentation is clearly a large part of this film. Many characters discuss where they are going when they die and Calebs father is evangelistic about his faith. Not only about his faith, but about how it has saved his relationship and given him new hope.
Along side these themes, Fireproof also explores the temptations of a withering relationship. It reveals just a part of the snare that an affair can have in smashing the small few remaining embers of a once fulfilling relationship. As well as the affects of unfaithfulness of the eyes and how they can tear down a woman’s self image and destroy true intimacy. Intimacy that is not just about sex, but about true fulfillment.
Content 9/10
There is some verbal fighting, moderately intense wreck and fire sequences, and some pornography innuendo(Images of Caleb surfing the web. Nothing is shown to the audience).
Technical 5/10
Technically, at the time of it’s creation it was leaps and bounds ahead in quality of anything Sherwood had previously made. With that said the script is fairly predictable and it is made weak by a lack of strong subtext and well crafted dialogue. This is reflected in the acting which is rather decent. The music, however, was one of the strengths of the film. It had a great theme and boosted the emotion of several scenes. Overall, it was a fairly average quality film. And for an Independent film quite amazing.
Conclusion
Fireproof is a great film for Sherwood and something to be praised for its strong values. I’d recommend this film to all audiences especially couples. The themes are really great and it is refreshing to see a solid Christian film on the market.
Purchase Fireproof and support this review site.
I’d recommend it. 🙂
worldview Movie Reviews 