Alex Kendrick’s The Forge is a terrible movie. Normally, I would not be quite so blunt but, after twenty years of trying to see the good in Kendrick’s films, I simply don’t have the strength to sugarcoat my opinions. By any metric, this movie is undeniably awful. So much so, in fact, that I feel I am paying it a compliment by referring to it as a movie at all. This has long been a problem for Christian films in general and Kendrick’s films in particular. Everything about them is so strangely off that it feels somehow unfair to compare them to even the most mediocre of Hollywood productions. Nothing fits together quite the way it should. If cinema is a language, then Alex Kendrick and his brother/co-writer Stephen are illiterate.
The story is a simple one, though the filmmakers manage to overcomplicate it to the point of bafflement. This is not to suggest any kind of complexity; any moments that deal with emotional messiness are so simplified it robs them of any power whatsoever. This may sound like a contradiction – a film being complicated and simplistic at the same time – but such is the nature of Kendrick’s movies. To watch them is to enter into a world of contradiction where characters learn things they already know, epic scoring attempts to bolster nonexistent stakes, and a work of art forgets what it is.
We begin with single mother Cynthia (Priscilla C. Shirer) frustrated with her nineteen-year-old son Isaiah (Aspen Kennedy), whose ambitions don’t go far beyond playing videogames with his friends. When she issues him an ultimatum – get a job or move out – Isaiah meets with Joshua (Cameron Arnett), the owner of a fitness equipment company, about employment. Joshua immediately hires him and soon begins to mentor the young man. It’s not long before Joshua is revealed to be a Christian, eager to instill his values in Isaiah. Isaiah soon becomes a Christian himself but is met with a challenge in the form of his estranged father, who randomly shows up at Isaiah’s workplace. Isaiah’s rage over his father’s absence boils to the surface but Joshua encourages him to forgive. Isaiah cries out to God and soon finds the strength to absolve his father.
You would likely assume that a young man’s reconciliation with his father would be an effective note to end on but you would be wrong. What are you, some kind of stupid idiot? We’re not even close to the end of this film. In fact, we’re only halfway there. To add insult to injury, Isaiah’s father never shows up again after this first encounter.
If that’s not the climax, you may be wondering, what is? Rest assured, it is neither impactful nor satisfying. You might think that in a film like this, the ending would be rooted in emotion. But, once again, you would be dead wrong. Instead, we get Isaiah and the other employees of Joshua’s company frantically working an extra shift in the warehouse to fill an important order so that they don’t lose a big account. If that sounds a little anticlimactic, that’s because it is. A bunch of people working an additional eight hours and presumably getting overtime so that they can help the company and, in doing so, ensure their continued employment isn’t exactly Frodo and Sam arriving at Mount Doom. Especially when the man who controls the warehouse robots does so from his own living room, seated in what looks to be a pretty darn comfortable La-Z-Boy.
Ignoring – or perhaps not recognizing – actual story significance in favor of artificial story significance is always a good indicator of an amateur effort. A genuine pro will allow his story and characters to guide him, whereas a beginner will have a handful of ideas from which they will not waiver, and will force them into their script, whether they fit or not. This is understandable when it comes from a new filmmaker, but is absolutely unacceptable from seasoned professionals, which the Kendricks purport to be.
There are so many more problems to discuss with The Forge, but what’s even the point? I could mention character inconsistencies, inappropriate music, and dull production design, but that would be like casting pearls before cinematic swine. It’s clear that the Kendrick Brothers are unable – or, even worse, unwilling – to put in the work required to improve their films. And why would they? Their audiences are always going to sing their praises, like the Kendricks are the second coming of Frank Capra. Their horrendous storytelling and bland directing are easily forgiven by their fans. Because, hey, their hearts are in the right place. Sure, their films might not win any awards, but their intentions are pure.
That may be true, but they’ve spent the last 20 years ignoring the basic tenets of quality filmmaking, paving their way with only the best of intentions. Unfortunately, after years of compromise and stubbornness, these Heaven-minded filmmakers have successfully crafted a road that leads directly to a cinematic Hell.
