Machine Gun Preacher – Movie Review

Machine Gun Preacher
Starring: Gerard Butler, Michelle Monaghan, Michael Shannon
Rated: R
Directed by: Marc Foster

gerard-butler-machine-gun-preacher-poster

The story of Sam Childers, a drug dealing biker who finds god and creates an orphanage in War torn Sudan

Gerard Butler stars as Sam Childers in the “based on a true story” Machine Gun Preacher, A film title that ranks right up there with “Hobo with a Shotgun” while Hobo is a farce “Machine Gun Preacher” is a serious biopic with a ridiculous title, even the autobiography it’s based on had the good sense to call itself “Another Man’s War”. Marketing blunder of a title aside, MP seems like the type of film that takes huge liberties with the source material (Full disclosure, I have not read the book, it might be as unbelievable as the movie) or Sam Childers happens to be the stupidest man alive (Albeit, stupid with good intentions). When introduced to Sam he is fresh out of jail, sporting a mullet as impressive as his piss poor attitude, upset with his wife for taking a regular job and no longer stripping, Sam falls back into his old routine of petty crime and shooting up drugs. When Sam hits bottom (thinking he killed a drifter) he soon turns to the lord for salvation. He is born again and his life takes a turn for the better, able to escape the trailer park and criminal proclivity that occupied his time, Sam now owns a construction company and a home. Upon hearing about the plight of the Sudanese, Sam travels to Africa to give back and do some of God’s work.

MP quickly goes from being a story of one man’s redemption to an absurd tail that seems more of an urban myth, littered with plot holes and nonsense. Sam is an Addict through and through and soon he goes from being addicted to drugs too what amounts to collecting orphans, the longer the tail continues the more he doesn’t even care about the children, and the film turns to nonsense. One moment he is dressed in Fatigues ambushing and killing rebels to rescue children the next he is an absentee father who forsakes his family and sells the family’s construction business to purchase a truck in Africa. This is where the film lost me. He is willing to kill rebels, stopping convoys of vehicles multiple times, yet at no point does he think, let’s take a truck along with the kids? The guy leaves trucks littered across desert roads, but screws his family over to buy a truck, You need supplies and are willing to kill the rebels who have the children and supplies take the supplies as well, don’t take them from the only people that supported you back home your wife and daughter (Sam Childers is a Dick). He goes on scouting missions looking to collect more kids, yet doesn’t bring a vehicle that can accommodate any decent number of them if found. One thing is for sure, Sam Childers was not raised a Boy Scout, this dude is never prepared. His cause is noble, yet he thinks so small. He builds an orphanage in a war torn country but doesn’t think about building any form of protective reinforcement in case of invasion. That is until it’s too late. The guy has seen children blown up by landmines, a girl with her lips cut off yet he doesn’t ever consider providing any protection for the orphanage.

He is told by a doctor at one point that he is nothing but a mercenary; does this genius take this info to hart? Nope it’s time to strap on the fatigues and start killing rebels. Ultimately it’s a guy who claims he wants to do right for the Sudanese but rather uses that, as an excuse to take his poor behavior that wasn’t tolerated in the states to a place with no rules and spins it as a hero. He is an absentee father with a checkered past who likes to pretend he is a modern day John Rambo, if he helps some people then it’s a bonus.

An overly long tale, that spins from redemption to ridiculous faster than a rebel bullet.

Grade- 73