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    The Shack

    Reviewed by
    adamwatchesmovies@

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    Do you love God? Enough to be immune to a film's genuine quality? Do you hate being challenged? If you answered yes, you can stop reading this review. Nothing will prevent you from loving "The Shack". For everyone else… read on.

    After Mack (Sam Worthington) and his family are the victims of a life-shattering tragedy, the formerly loving father is left bitter and angry. His faith wavers until he gets an invitation from God (Octavia Spencer) to travel to a shack in the woods and find answers to his questions.

    Anyone remotely religious who's looked around, seen bad things happen to good people and contemplated any biblical passage has little to gain from “The Shack”. It's a reminder that God is love. There’s talk about not judging others, of forgiveness and moving on, learning to love and so on. But what else? You've heard that before.

    This film is filled with cheap shots and devoid of real answers. Take Mack’s youngest daughter, Missy (Amelie Eve), for example. She’s the most precocious, sweet little girl, the kind that is so close to God she has given him the nickname of “Papa”. It spells trouble, and not the good kind. As a movie, there’s just nothing here. Octavia Spencer (taking over from Morgan Freeman I assume) is good as "Papa". Everyone else ranges from just ok, to bad. Poor Sam Worthington can be good but he needs a strong director. Stuart Hazeldine is not it.

    Look at “Manchester by the Sea”, also about a deeply depressed man and you see what "The Shack" could've been. There are dozens of similar, but better films. With God, Jesus (Aviv Alush – at least they picked someone who wasn’t white) and the Holy Spirit (model/actress Sumire) singling out a person and helping him through his ordeal, I couldn’t help but think of “Scrooge”, another better movie.

    I know it’s unfair to go after the premise. Without it, there'd be no picture. I can’t help myself. It's Deus ex Machina the movie. Literally, a character's problems are suddenly solved through divine intervention. On Friday, Mack was ready to hang himself. On Saturday, he’s skipping through the streets because he traveled to a magical place and ran on water with Jesus? Can you imagine the family's reaction?

    This simply isn't a well-made film. It’s clear that the snow Worthington is treading through is fake; sometimes it doesn’t even cover the lawn or trees. It’s overly sentimental, cloying and riddled with clichés. If you’re grieving and hoping to find answers, Mack's emotional journey isn't one you can replicate.

    “The Shack” does not enlighten or challenge. It isn’t bold like “Passion of the Christ”. It isn’t subtle like 1959's “Ben-Hur”. It’s harmless, but mostly because it has no teeth. (Theatrical version on the big screen, April 3, 2017)

    3
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    adamwatchesmovies@  5.4.2017 age: 26-35 2,867 reviews

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