Sony Features
Those looking for a motion picture with motivation and encouragement need look no further. War Room has now hit the shelves of your local retailer right in time for Christmas. You know, due to it being a critically acclaimed film, my friends told me to see War Room when it was out in theaters earlier this year, but thanks to my regularly hectic schedule, I wasn’t able to see it. Luckily for me, being a writer has its benefits. Imagine my delight when I learned that I would get the chance to review what has been called one of the greatest inspirational movies of 2015. Needless to say, I was thrilled.
So, were the critics right? Were my friends accurate in their recommendation?
The answer is a resounding yes. War Room lives up to the hype and then some. I’m not ashamed to say that I got a little teary eyed a few times while watching it and even found myself talking to my Samsung flat screen, vocally encouraging the protagonist to keep praying to God while simultaneously reaching for my Kleenex – an obvious sign that I was rather invested in the film.
War Room is the kind of movie that really makes you cheer on its central character. It has a way of getting you to care about her and wanting to see her succeed. Evidently, that’s the testament of a solid movie. The story centers on a young African-American woman named Elizabeth (Priscilla C. Shirer) who seems to have it all – nice house, nice car, handsome husband, beautiful daughter and a wonderful job. Of course, anyone who’s seen a Lifetime movie knows that looks can be deceiving. As luck would have it, it turns out that her husband isn’t exactly the ideal partner and often neglects his wife and daughter for his high-paying career. Additionally, he finds himself flirting with temptation when a beautiful young lady begins showing him an ounce of attention.
Enter Miss Clara (Karen Abercrombie), a wonderfully wise God-fearing Christian, with enough spunk to put Ugly Betty’s Wilhelmina Slater to shame – spiritually speaking, of course. With the encouragement of Clara, Elizabeth establishes a war room, a place in her house where she goes to God in prayer, in an effort to save her marriage. While tales of neglected wives are certainly nothing new, War Room has a way of making this story seem just a bit more impactful. Perchance it’s the religious aspect. In a world that so often times strives to be politically correct, it’s both refreshing and impressive to see a film with religion at the forefront. It’s definitely not something we see in Hollywood every day. Maybe that’s why it did so well at the box office.
Elizabeth is portrayed as a genuine sweetheart, a kindhearted woman who’s trapped in an unfortunate situation. She is arguably one of the nicest movie characters this year and because of that, I found myself uttering a few impolite words as her husband mistreated her. What can I say? I just really wanted to see her happy.
Happiness is an emotion I also felt when I discovered the many special features that the Blu-ray release comes with. One of my pet peeves is when movie studios fail to include special features on Blu-ray and DVD releases. That is not the case here. Extras include a solid director commentary, bloopers, a music video, a making of featurette, deleted scenes and several other nifty segments. It’s nice to know the studio didn’t skimp on the extras. The movie is presented in 1080p high definition and shows up brilliantly on television screens. Additionally, subtitles are available in English, Chinese, French, Indonesian/Bahasa/ Korean, Portuguese, Spanish and a few others.
I enjoyed War Room tremendously. I’ve already started recommending it to family, friends and coworkers. Be sure to add this to your collection. Believe me when I say that it’ll change your life!
Just keep the Kleenex handy.
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