David and Goliath (2015) User Reviews

Acceptable but could have been much better

[theththunder · 3/10 · 3 April 2015]

Warning, spoilers ahead. Be aware, I have been a Christian > 10 year. I try to be objective; I had to cut my original review in half.

First up, accuracy of content. *1 Samuel 17:5-6 Bible: Goliath's gear is bronze. Film: It's iron. *v8-10 Bible: These are Goliath's words. Film: Words are different. *v13 Bible: Jesse had 3 sons in Saul's army. Film: Only 2 sons are shown. *v16 Bible: Goliath challenges daily for 40 days. Film: It covers a time span of 2 days or less. *v17-18 Bible: Jesse commands David to bring 22 L of grain and 10 loaves to his brothers and 10 cheeses to the commander. Film: David brings only 1 loaf of bread, handed off by an acquaintance, to his brothers and a chest to Saul and the commander. *v22 Bible: David hands Jesse's gifts off to the keeper of the baggage. Film: David gives the items directly. *v38-39 Bible: David tries on Saul's armor and sword. Film: David skips inspecting Saul's gear. *v45 Bible: Goliath came with sword, spear, and javelin; see also v6-7. Film: All we see is Goliath's sword. *v49 Bible: David's stone strikes Goliath's forehead and sinks in. He falls on his face. Film: The stone hits Goliath's helmet and falls back.

14 out of 58 verses don't match up. ~75.86% is accurate. Note: This is a conservative calculation. Plus, the film has Michal, the younger of Saul's daughters, instead of Merab, the elder (i.e., 1 Samuel 18:17-29).

Next, production quality.

Screenplay *In fight scene there should be blood shed from using swords. There is none here. *David seems to be one-dimensional character whose only quality is his strong faith. *In Goliath's repetitive taunting, he is portrayed as stupid. For such scenes the film simply replays and recycle the exact same recording, like in cartoons. *In public, the Philistine commander is brave yet privately he is scared of God. *In one scene, the younger of David's older brothers, Abinadab, tells his fellow soldiers that David picked up 5 stones. This should have been deleted. Otherwise, three other scenes make David and his brothers look like liars or forgetful. Scene #1: Saul asks Abinadab what weapon will David use. He doesn't know. Scene #2: Saul asks David. He doesn't know. Scene #3: David's two brothers ask him. David doesn't know.

Dialog *David quotes Hebrews 11:6 that wouldn't have existed in such form before the Apostle Paul wrote it. *Eliab dismisses God's past intervention as ancient history in "that scroll," referring to David's work-in-progress psalm. Eliab effectively included David's psalm into their Jewish Scripture canon. *At one point, the Philistine command yells "I am Satan!" This can refer specifically to the Satan or merely a Satan/adversary/devil. *Some of the jokes are made in poor humor in contrast to the seriousness. *Michal pleas for David to return alive for "my sake." How is it that a young lady's affections have turned so quickly towards David? I'm sure Miles Sloman didn't mind; Makenna Guyler is beautiful, to heavenly proportions. Should have given her more scenes. Lesson: Single men, learn to play the guitar, the modern equivalent of the lyre/harp (1 Samuel 16:14-23). *As Michal says goodbye for now to David, she calls him "King David." Had the favor in her eyes so quickly abandoned her father (1 Samuel 18:20,28)? *David didn't want to use Saul's sword because it was "heavy" yet he is able to use Goliath's heavier sword.

Acting *Some extras with a few lines are bad while some are better than some minor characters.

Visuals *Overall, the movie poster looked better. *Transitions between scenes and shots cut too quickly. *From scene to scene and even shots within the same scene, the lighting is inconsistent. Is it an equipment or planning shooting schedule problem? *There is heavy use of the green screen. The sky's rendering is inconsistent. Sometimes it is a static cloudy gray. Sometimes sunny with rolling white clouds. *While contemplating the night before fighting Goliath, a starlit, sky randomly rotates into the scene. In that same scene, city lights outlining a bridge is clearly seen in the distant, black sky. *It is difficult to tell how much time passes. *The green screen background of the sword smith's workshop is way out of proportion. *Goliath's decapitated head is noticeably computer-generated.

Costumes and props *Uniforms within each army are not uniform. *Newly shed blood and older wounds look unreal; dripping blood looks like it is from a Halloween fake blood-pill. *Goliath's lighter-weight armor doesn't cover much of his belly. *Two Philistine soldiers in black bring two men, who fished without authorization, to the commander. The fish prop is a plastic/rubber toy. *Those same soldiers were wearing sneakers underneath. *In scenes in the beginning and end, people have sword. Why didn't the Israeli army use swords instead of sharpened wooden shafts? Were those swords decorative?

Audio track *Their sound effects library seems to be fairly limited. The muddy footsteps sound effect plays even when someone has stopped walking and is out of sync. *The volume of vocal dialog is kept high. Sometimes you can hear the static of clothing rubbing up against the microphones. *The musical score would abruptly start and end in a scene, cutting off unnaturally.

Nearing the end of the film, David says to Eliab, "It is the hand of God that saves us all." Unfortunately, it seems that God did not save the quality of this production. Instead of watching, listen to 1 Samuel 17 on Biblegateway online; it's free. Or better yet read the Bible, just like Director Tim Chey did and received the graces of Christ's salvation.

Analysis of David and Goliath

[wickershammaddie · 5/10 · 27 March 2017]

David and Goliath accurately tells the biblical story of David and Goliath. However, the director's attempts to add humor and modern dialogue at times takes away from the epic nature of the story. Certain elements of the biblical story are added to in the movie. For example, the tension between David and his brothers. This allows for a more human understanding of David and allows viewers to understand just how heroic his actions were.

Terrible acting and badly directed.

[NoWireHangers · 3/10 · 10 November 2015]

Tim Chey's "David and Goliath" fails on every level. I can't remember when I last saw so many terrible acting performances in one movie. There are some exceptions, such as the lead actor playing David, but many actors are terrible and the villains are also ridiculous stereotypes. The script is repetitive and the dialogue and acting is laughable. And to make it even more silly, there's one or two sequences involving Goliath shouting insults that's reused over and over throughout the movie.

David & Goliath offers some unintentionally funny scenes but other than that, there's no reason to watch it. It was more interesting watching with the director's commentary, although he repeated himself a lot.

If you're a 'luke-warm' Believer or hate hearing God's name mentioned all the time, PASS AND MOVE ON

[tomhilman1157 · 7 April 2015]

..........If you have a hard time hearing a lot about GOD and such, pass on this at the local Googleplex and wander into another film. I hope it makes you happy. But, I would gently suggest you try this movie out. Be you a man (or woman) of Faith or not. You just might be surprised. And, you just might wish to spend a little more time with the Savior of the world. I often do not see movies like this, since I am a somewhat typical man who prefers big blockbuster SF or other action oriented films. However, I went to see this movie at my local multiplex yesterday on a date with my wife and found myself really enjoying the movie. The people attending were a mix of adults and teenagers, with about an equal mix of men and women. I met a couple of people I knew there and they seemed to have enjoyed the film.

TH Houston ('The greatest city in the world')

Unbelievably bad

[genealogist-38566 · 1/10 · 10 April 2015]

I wrote one review already, but it seems you deleted it. I don't know why. It was perfectly appropriate but negative.

I agree with all the other one-star reviews. The movie was childish and amateurish. It looked like the actors had been recruited from a Texas- Mexico border junior high school. It's crazy to have the lead characters played by Scotch-Irish-British actors and to have all the others played by Mexicans.

I wanted to walk out, but I forced myself to stay. This film was a great disappointment to me because I really wanted it to be good.

The worst thing is that it seems a lot of people have been paid to write wonderful things about this movie. Surely American movie-goers are sophisticated enough to see what a horrendous flop this is.

How many other negative reviews have you deleted.

We shouldn't even be talking about this

[rojmo · 1/10 · 8 April 2015]

It is complete irresponsibility that we are even discussing this movie. I have never been more confused by a rating for a movie than by this one. 15-20 people walked out of the showing within 20 minutes. I sat through the entirety and I consider it a painful experience.

I am Christian. I have liked Christian based movies in the past but only if they were done well.

This movie must have been filmed using a camcorder bought from a yard sale and recorded over the used tapes that came with it. I've seen better acting and script from small church plays. They stood out there in the wind and amplified the yelling to cover the wind noise.

Honestly I do not understand how this movie has the ratings it has. I just watched the trailer before writing this review. They definitely put more into developing the trailer. They were amazingly able to hide all the short comings.

I have a bit of confusion concerning the plot and the Biblical version. A Israeli soldier complains that Goliath has been presenting himself for twenty days and then David shows up at the battle site. I am not sure how many days and nights they claim David was actually there but the next 60-70 minutes of the movie was a continuous repeat of the same argument/conflict. They were stretching to fill the time slot.

I wrote the cinema and demanded restitution. If you have seen this movie already, give it a shot. If you haven't, be warned.

I don't want to discourage the showing of good movies for the small select audience whether they be Christian or something other. But the cinema needs to be responsible about it. This movie is amateur and below the standards of the price of a ticket!

Could have been shot better by high schoolers.

[kevin-cooke · 1/10 · 16 November 2015]

Without any possible doubt the single worst biblical movie I have ever had the misfortune to watch. The acting for want of a better term was diabolical, the cinematography again for the want of a better term was on a par with that of parents shooting their kids school play on a VHS camcorder (although the acting would doubtless be better), the sound recording at its best points was muffled and at its worst sounded like it had been done with a microphone at the bottom of a metal bucket on a 1970's cassette recorder.

I accept I will never get back the half hour of my life I managed to force myself to sit through this travesty in the hope that it might get better but I sincerely wish there were a way I could at least UN-watch it.

The ONLY ways I can imagine anyone could possibly give this rubbish a good review are either:- 1. they were in it themselves. 2. They know someone who was in it and want to promote it on their behalf. (if you are one of these people do your friend a favour, let this movie disappear into the oblivion it deserves, the same goes for those who were in it) 3. They are so deeply indoctrinated into their faith that they are unable to accept that anything to do with it could possibly be bad. 4. They have been paid. or 5. They have never before seen any kind of movie and were just blown away by moving pictures that can talk (even if you can't actually hear what they are saying a lot of the time).

I actually felt embarrassed for everyone involved in this movie, I felt embarrassed for the actors (I use that word very liberally here), the director, the producers, all of the crew, the animals, the guys who made the cameras lights and sound gear and the guys who sold them to whoever shot it; it was so bad those responsible should get down on their knees and apologise to the very locations and equipment for involving them in the making of something so thoroughly awful.

I only hope that none of those involved relied on the skills demonstrated in this movie to keep them from homelessness and starvation and that having got it out of their system were able to go back into society, perhaps with the help of some counselling they will one day be able to forget.

Tedious retelling of Biblical story ***contains spoilers***

[barcar93 · 1/10 · 14 November 2015]

***Spoilers contained -Read at your own risk***

This movie begins with an interesting premise but quickly falls apart in the telling leading to my rating of 1 star.

The premise: Israel's long time nemesis, the Philistines, have superior weaponry --as they have taken advantage of the tools of the Iron Age and have swept their enemies away. Also, the Philistine army has a champion fighter in the person of Goliath, a "giant" who has been an undefeated warrior from his youth.

In the Biblical telling, Goliath is a little under 10 feet tall, wearing armor weighing hundreds of pounds, and would tower over every man on the battlefield. Goliath in this movie is a big guy all right, but not the enormous foe that we would expect. Goliath spends each day taunting the Israelite army with the same taunt.

"You maggots! You are cowards! I will kill you!"

The writers would have done well to recruit some WWE WrestleMania superstars to deliver the trash talking-at least the taunts would have had some entertainment value.

Goliath is also portrayed as somewhat oafish and dim-witted in the film. (Malcolm Gladwell has a Ted talk on the "unheard story of David and Goliath" where he speculates that Goliath suffers from a condition called 'acromegaly' that accounts for his mental disability. Perhaps this portrayal of Goliath is a nod to this viewpoint. I don't know if I buy that explanation, because it diminishes the menacing aspect of Goliath's threat to the Israelites. Is David the only one who senses that Goliath's bluster is "all bark and no bite"? If the point of the story is God's deliverance of his people, where is the miracle?)

Where's the action? Early on in the movie, we see that the armies on both sides are small groups of ragtag soldiers. Do not expect a large cast along the lines of a Cecil B. DeMille movie! A cast of a few dozen at best, not thousands. This to me is was another great disappointment.

The actor playing David is admittedly the bright spot, but his dialog is sadly redundant. David says that he is willing to fight to defend God's honor, by God's might and power, he repeats this again and again to anyone who will listen. He tells his brother Eliab. He tells King Saul.

Everyone tells David to go away and go home. Every Israelite who has something to say keep telling David that he will lose to Goliath and be killed. This dialog goes on way too long.

Where's the romance? I'd also like to have seen more development of the romance between David, the humble shepherd boy, and Michal, the rich king's daughter. There's a hint of the romance, but Michal is just another person telling David he can't win against Goliath. (Trivia: In the 1951 movie "David and Bathsheba," David is played by Gregory Peck and Michal is played by Jayne Meadows).

Then the battle between David and Goliath finally takes place. The two men circle each other, Goliath waving his sword and David ready with his sling. The appearance, and the movements of the actors, in my opinion, do not adequately portray the contrast I'd expect between the giant lumbering warrior and the small brave shepherd boy. David sees his opening, and throws his stone knocking Goliath down. Both armies are surprised, but we are not.

The script might fit a children's Sunday School play, but even then could benefit from some tight editing and scenes better left on the cutting room floor. I really wanted to like this movie because I love the Bible story but it was a let down.

Excruciating

[angela_d-06219 · 1/10 · 7 April 2015]

All but three couples left the theater. Was it supposed to be comical? The dialogue between actors was comical. Some of the actors seemed on the verge of rolling on the ground laughter at any moment. Very poorly done and very overly hyped online. The ones promoting on social media that I've discussed with have not even seen the movie. This movie only made me sad because I am concerned Hollywood will further mock Christians after this.Visually stimulating? No. Big budget 50 million dollar movie? Unbelievable. David seemed to be the only professional actor. Furthermore, the creators of the movie seem to delete honest comments that may be perceived critical. Sure, if all you see is positive comments that's deceiving people. In my opinion, the movie was a low-budget mockery of the true story from the King James Version of the bible.

Excellent movie

[Adambernstein9903 · 9/10 · 31 December 2019]

Excellent, moving film. I saw the filmmaker's last movie, 'Slamma Jamma' and had to see this. I didn't understand the low scores until I realized they people leaving the low scores were either atheists or 'Angels of Light' (Satan posing as a Christian). The script is emotional, touching, and emphasizes the connections between the characters involved. I loved the chemistry between David and his brothers, it is a wonderful love story to watch. Also, the connection that David and Saul share is something very special. COURAGE is at the center of this entire film, and it will touch you in a deep way, or at least that's the experience I had with it. I suggest this very well made film to those who like epics. It is not the best film ever, but it is certainly a very good one. 8/10 for David and Goliath.

These trolls hurt. All positive reviews of this film are trolls

[aphoenix-57027 · 1/10 · 19 April 2016]

As a child I watched Avatar the Last Airbender with fanatical devotion, when I first heard of a live action movie of said series I felt joy that was quickly dashed and destroyed the very second I saw it. Saying this, I would rather watch M. Night Shamalamadingdong's god awful train wreck of a live action atrocity than see this thing again.

The plot is a twenty minute story copy and pasted into a ninety minute train wreck and beaten with a stick, during the battle they copy and paste the army, you see the paste, you see four men in center screen just appear out of no where. AND THATS NOT EVEN THE WORST EFFECT!

The acting is nonexistent, a deaf man could do better sound, the camera man should've been shot, the scene in the philistine black smith, the king and the blacksmith are standing in front of a greenscreen image of a MODERN FORGE. This thing has scarred me.

This movie is more preachy than Birddemic, Goliath is fat, not muscular, not big, just fat. The costumes, the "armor" blows in the wind. I actually made this account solely to bash this, I can't, I can't call it a movie. I swear the costumes are cardboard.

Kubrick, Hitchcock, and all the greats are rolling in their graves by the fact that this thing exists. Chey, the director of this train wreck, had a budget of $50 million, and it doesn't show.

In short, take Batman and Robin script writing, Birddemic camera work, and throw in every badguy cliché in the history of film and you get David and Goliath (2015) This is the Sonic 06 of Film.

A Slow, Painfully Beautiful Film but Biblically correct

[rich_boone · 10/10 · 31 December 2019]

LET US NEVER FORGET, this film doesn't smear King David or the Bible like the recent 'Noah' and 'Exodous'

They shot this film in North Africa and London so it had epic shooting. I saw the director's recent film 'The Islands'

David and Goliath seems to be more of a book than a film, with a slow, magical flow, that captures your imagination, or bores you, if you are one of the less patient crowd. The story isn't the main draw of the film (there are countless sad love stories in Hollywood each year, but not every one that honors God Almighty). What is so captivating of the film is its pacing, and it is easy to understand why it appeals more to older people and to those who watch the film more than once. Jared Morgan always is a solid presence in films, taking the movies from good film to classic. The movie touches on the points of what young King David went through that we don't always see, from Goliath to his brothers. It's not a movie that people love/hate, but one that people find incredibly interesting or boring. It's something I would recommend for everyone, but that doesn't mean i think they'll like it. 10 of 10 stars/ Thumbs up

"YOU May Come Against Me With Sword and Spear...."

[stevie235FLORIDA · 7/10 · 28 March 2015]

A pin just dropped. It seems that the critics are silent so I thought I'd throw in my two cents to even things up a bit. First, if you assume every movie is made simply to uppercut some sort of ideology into the audience's chest, then yes, it does seem very religious - so what? 80% of the world is religious! You watch sports! Guess what - you're religious! Every scene is beautifully crafted. I found the slowdown to be stylistic and much of the dialogue, which is apparently cheesy and fascist to the rest of the world, to be at least somewhat inspiring, and certainly engaging. Don't get caught up in all the anti hype. Enjoy it for what it is which is a good tale of a Bible story, great action scenes, (if not a little over done), great faith-based film acting and above all, a moral tale for today's age. 7/10

How could this movie receive so may glowing reviews/stay away!

[bhoidas · 1/10 · 23 May 2016]

I don't usually write reviews but have to for this awful movie. First I am a born again Christian and read the Bible and Devotionals every day and after reading the good reviews for this movie I was so excited to watch it. This movie has the quality and acting of a grade school project. And how could reviewers say it is "Biblical?" Besides the terrible quality and over acting it has too many errors to list them all. First of all the battle between Israel and the Philistines by Elah was NOT a "last stand" for Israel. Secondly (a more common error made by many Christians and even Pastors) Nowhere in the Bible does it say David is small. His father and brothers were tall so there is no reason to believe David was small. Saul despite all his shortcomings was not stupid and was a very tall man and he had David try on his armor. David took it off not because it was too big but because he was not used to wearing armor. King Saul in the movie wears regular plain clothes instead of the battle clothes that he would have worn. Many of the Philistines wear ridiculous eye makeup which just makes them look silly. Saul's daughter Michal is depicted throughout the movie wandering along the front battle lines-what? Never would have happened. Throughout most of the movie there is inexplicably thunder even though the skies are always sunny or partly cloudy. The giant Goliath isn't even that tall. In the Bible he was depicted as being over 9' tall. And the scene where David kills Goliath has no action or drama at all. The movie has David think about battling Goliath over night. That's not Biblical nor is the constant begging of David to battle Goliath. He asked once. I repeat awful movie!

Great Movie - Must see

[debbiewarren · 3 April 2015]

This movie was excellent and far surpassed my expectations. There is a definite message to it but it does not feel like a lecture. There is lots of action and lots of emotion. Everyone in the theater was both laughing and crying throughout the movie. The movie was well written and well acted. The movie focused accurately on the Bible story (praise the Lord!) without being judgmental. The lack of courage among the whiny and critical Christians was the main theme of the movie. Although this is a Christian movie there is lots of action and does not come across as preachy. Recommend seeing it regardless of your faith and beliefs in God.

Horrible

[Pickwick12 · 1/10 · 4 April 2015]

This is an absolutely terrible film. As a Christian, I give a lot of allowances to faith-based films, but no amount of allowances can redeem a film that is simply not excellent in any way.

The acting is poor, the script is entirely unprofessional, and the filming technique is poorer than a student film-level effort.

That is not even mentioning the horrendous cultural inaccuracies of white Americans playing Israeli and Philistine characters and the offensive anachronism of Saul's daughter walking around freely in a camp of soldiers. This film was made with no respect or regard for the historical context of the story or the cultural heritage of the characters.

There is no reason to see this or take anyone to see it. Scripture itself is very powerful, and the story of David and Goliath is incredible. Read it for yourself and be blessed. Don't waste money on a film that should never have been made.

Great for a media class- how NOT to make a movie!

[bethanyebethany · 1/10 · 3 April 2015]

When the movie first came on, I was laughing out loud because I thought that it was a joke. I kept hoping that it was something sort of in the family of the "Monty Python" movies. I really can't point out my least favorite part. Don't get me wrong, the movie was certainly enjoyable- it was hilarious! The terrifying jump-cuts were hilarious. There is also this scene where Goliath is eating from a cow's head and says, "nom-nom" while some terribly pathetic fake blood is shown on his mouth. This movie is an interesting view at what happens when you let 2nd graders write a script, film, cast actors, and create sound effects. The shots were terrible, but the sound was even more terrifying. All of Goliath's lines were tape recordings of the same couple of sentences over and over and over again. "I am god- you are nothing!" "You coward!" "I see you!" "Come up and fight!" "You maggot!" "I hate your guts!" The movie opens with these lines, and they last up until David (finally) kills Goliath. There are also random horse sound-effects (or should I say effect, because there was only one sound effect played over and over) in scenes where there are absolutely no horses around. The backgrounds are so obviously green screens in most of the scenes, and all of the b-roll is repeated throughout. There is also a scene where David is praying on a rock, and the shot is repeated so many times, except with a different prayer. If you are wanting a movie that is biblically sound, I certainly wouldn't recommend this movie. When no one offers to fight Goliath, King Saul offers the beautiful pale blonde Michal (they call her "Michelle") as a reward to anyone brave enough to fight. It was interesting to see all of the random places of the movie that they could think to throw in Michal. Goliath kept changing heights, too. The script really isn't much better. There is about 30 minutes of people trying to convince David not to fight Goliath, and it was so aggravating. At one point some guards go up to the Philistines to try to negotiate a deal, and when they come back they are injured. When they are asked what happened to them, they reply, "We were ambushed!!" Again, I laughed out-loud in the theater. However, despite all of the unintentional comedy, my favorite part was hands-down one of the many scenes in which David's brothers tried to convince him not to fight Goliath. This was hilarious because from one angle, there was a wall behind David, and from another angle, it kept showing horses walking by with the same horse sound-effect. After the conversation is over, David says something about how he must go to find Goliath, and walks away towards the direction of the wall. You're sitting there thinking, "how? Where does he think that he is going? There is a wall right there, there is nowhere that he can go?" Then one of his brothers, as if agreeing with you, says, "where is he going?" It was brilliant, but not intentionally brilliant. That's the sad part.

I came to IMDb, and now I am even more confused. "Big-budget" movie? So many positive reviews? I am so concerned, and I am still hoping that this movie is a big April Fool's joke.

I'm not trying to be mean, but it is disheartening. The promoters have right-out lied about the movie, advertising it as being "better than Hollywood." I awaited this movie for a long, but it was a waste of such precious time and money. I would be embarrassed and ashamed to release such a terrible movie.

Awful, the worst movie of my life

[emmasmithcape · 1/10 · 10 April 2015]

This was by far THE WORST MOVIE THAT I HAVE EVER SEEN.

If you are fooled by the good reviews like me only to be shocked by the awfulness of this backyard Bozo film, then request a refund from the theater. I have never, ever requested a refund from a theater before. In my opinion it is hit or miss and all tastes are different, so one shouldn't complain, until now. This is by no means a theater quality film and I am appalled that theater owners would cheat their customers by showing it.

This so-called movie had:

1. Poor sound quality. It sometimes shattered our ear drums due to the fact that they did not scrub the wind out of the dialog properly and just raised the shrill shouting of the actors to compensate for the background noise.

2. Had horrible scripting. The screen play was written by someone that had to be mentally challenged. In fact, it was like a comedy that was not even remotely funny.

3. The filmography was horrendous. It looked like someone filmed it using their IPhone.

4. The costumes were sewed by the actors' blind grannies.

5. No plot. The soldiers just scurried about talking about how frightened they were. They talked all movie long about how David should not fight Goliath. There was no action what so ever. The retard Goliath was like Groot from Guardians of the Galaxy. (Although I shouldn't ruin the good name of the other much better movie by mentioning together with this trash.) He had like two lines that he repeated the whole film.

6. The make-up looked like it came from the Rocky Horror Picture show or some all-male queenly cabaret. My husband thought that one of the actors looked like Baldrick from the movie Black Adder. Honestly....

Oh Dear, a big miss

[abacuscoach · 1/10 · 6 April 2015]

I'm sorry to say this was one of the worst films ever. Based on the awesome biblical story of David and Goliath the writers tried hard to stick to the literal Biblical telling, using the speeches and words of the Bible for the script. But big budget, epic..no way. The CGI effects were awful, like a 1990's computer game. The characters while the actors tried hard they had repetitious lines to deliver over and over. The main scene, the army camp had no tents or furnishings, not even a basket of bread, just the bare rock and soil. The directing was amazing, has this director never seen a movie before? In one dialog between David and his brother, a scene that lasted around 2 minutes, there were more than 47 passes of walking people and horses between the charterers and camera, I counted 47 after they started to be so noticeable. In one scene, a long shot of the enemy camp there was a glass bottle and what looked like a plastic food container in the bottom right foreground - really. When King Saul is giving a speech to his lined up army (of 20 men) one, right in the front of the shot can be seen shoulders shaking with a fit of the giggles .... then I had to leave. Yes make Christian films, make Biblical films but please make them at least watchable.

Against All Odds, this is the classic story of the Underdog defeating the obvious Champion.

[Professional_Resources · 1/10 · 23 May 2016]

What a truly terrible production. Weak, shallow acting; cartoon characterizations; unintelligent dialog; scowling and shouting to convey a depth of emotion; cardboard costumes and a laughable sub-plot, in a pathetic attempt to stretch out what would have been better as a one-act comedy sketch on Saturday NIGHT LIVE.

The best part of the whole movie was the threat of weather streaming by in the background. A terrible, truly terrible production. On a 10-point scale, this 'epic' would be worth about 2.5, maybe, with all of that going to the natural set itself, including what appeared to be actual ruins from Roman occupation BC.

If I didn't know better, I'd say this was a production by some High School student who tricked his or her classmates into making a movie.

Does Not Merit a 4.2 - watch it yourself.

[tp471400 · 10/10 · 30 December 2019]

I'm rarely at a loss for words.....This movie is POWERFUL and life changing. As the other reviewer pointed out, you must see it to the end to really get the full meaning.

It is rare to have the lights come on after a movie has ended and people staying through the end credits and also seeing tears streaming down people's faces. Once this film was over, I was one of them. I'll be seeing Slamma Jama again, to pick up on some things that went by too quickly the first time. God bless the actors and crew for this contribution to humanity. Do yourself a tremendous favor and go see this film. You won't regret it.

The absolute worst movie EVER!!

[kbfitness · 1/10 · 3 April 2015]

Everything about the movie was terrible. The camera angles, the sky, and all the characters that were cast for the movie didn't make since to me or anyone else in the theater. I am totally disappointed with this movie!! It looked as if they digitally put people in certain scenes. I was excited when I heard about this movie, but now I can't believe I wasted my time and money. They could have tried to make it somewhat believable. The acting was atrocious. Some of the actors seemed to have forgotten their lines. Goliath's voice was nerve racking. The things he was calling the Jews was childish. WORST MOVIE EVER. PLEASE DON'T WASTE YOUR MONEY!

A Magnificent Motion Picture

[brisca_samuels · 10/10 · 28 December 2019]

I've seen a few movies in my time, but this one is exceptional. You'll have to watch it more than once to truly appreciate it, it is emotionally very complex, it explores love and passion at it's most extreme and it's cinematography is just breathtaking. The character of the David is intensely passionate and tragic without him having to raise his voice or indeed leave his bed to fight Goliath, the film is perfectly cast and perfectly acted. The film has a sort of mathematical precision and perfection to it which is rare these days. It combines action, love, tragedy, drama and politics all in one. This movie is unmissable, all the hype surrounding it and all the awards cannot begin to do it any justice. 10.

The Worse Acting Ever

[joseph_elijah · 1/10 · 30 March 2016]

This movie was comedic through out the whole movie. It is not because it was funny, but because the acting was so bad. I felt like someone was making a joke of the story of David and Goliath. This movie would be great though if it was produced in the 1930's when moving picture was rare. I think they should hide this movie for their family entertainment only. I think a high-school student's drama is better than this. The sound effect and the screen effect was terrible. The conversation was so raw, the drama was terrible. There were even oldest version of David's movie that is better than this one. Don't watch this unless you want to use this as a joke in your stand up comedy session.

Before you criticize, please read this .

[pelicanflorida449 · 13 April 2015]

As a pastor who watched 'David and Goliath', please read this before you criticize the film….

WHAT WOULD Jesus SAY?

There's a person at my church who suffers from severe depression after having a major heart transplant. He saw 'David and Goliath' and said he left the theater feeling elated and he told me his faith in the Lord was greatly renewed.

What would you say to him? Sorry, but the giant's acting was horrible, the cinematography was terrible, and the script was atrocious?

Is this what Jesus would say? Serious food for thought. At an age when the Lord's words are thrown out in favor of American bashing, don't join in. The Lord will bless you if you don't. ("Blessed are the Peacemakers")

WE ARE NOT CALLED TO JUDGE

This is why we are called not to judge ("For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you." Matthew 7:2)

Before you blast the film, ask yourself what would Jesus say about the film? Do you really see Jesus saying, "This is the worst film I've ever seen in my life. Costumes were horrible. Acting was atrocious."

By the same measure you judge others, you will be judged. God is serious about this. Do you really want someone to be judging YOUR work the same way? Your children? Your life? But this is a movie you say. No. It's someone's hard work that strives to honor God. We're suppose to be extra kind to Believers because the world is not.

WE ARE TO BE KIND AND COMPASSIONATE; FORGIVING

"Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you." (Ephesians 4:32)

American Christians refuse to abide by this simple premise. Instead, they take on the traits of pit-bull political commentators. They think the Lord Jesus Christ never really meant the words He spoke.

TRAITS OF A TRUE Christian

But the fruits of the spirits are love, kindness, compassion, gentleness, meekness, goodness, and forgiveness.

These are the traits of a true Christian. Anything less means…I'm sorry, but it might mean you're not truly saved. True born-again Believers are not filled with wrath, anger, and malice. They can at times, but not pre-meditatively.

I see so often American Christians have the traits of the devil. It says in the last days, "there will be terrible times in the last days. People will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boastful, proud, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, without love, unforgiving, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not lovers of the good, treacherous, rash, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God" 2 Timothy 3:1-5.

Before you criticize 'David and Goliath', ask yourself what are you trying to prove? Ask yourself whether it's worth $10 to rip into a fellow brother in Christ who went to Africa and risked his life to make a film that honors the God of the Bible. Right?

BUT! BUT!

But you don't understand, you say! This is the worst movie I've ever seen. The giant was horrible, the story was so slow, the….the…the – Hang on!

What movie are you comparing 'David and Goliath' to then? A Hollywood production? If so, can I say something? You're watching too many movies. This goes contrary to Scripture which says, "Fix your thoughts on what is true, and honorable, and right, and pure, and lovely, and admirable. Think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise." Philippians 4:8.

Too often the Christians in my church almost 90% of the time will spend their time in a movie theater or their home theater than helping the poor, feeding the hungry, visiting the prisons, or giving shelter to those in need. Seriously. And they really don't care. And the reason is….they're not really saved.

CARNAL CHRISTIANS

So often the Lord is talking to so-called Christians who are not really Christians. They'll watch a Hollywood movie before sharing the Gospel or visiting the sick in hospitals. Then, to make matters worse, they'll curse and growl at a Christian movie like "David and Goliath" and penalize the filmmakers with the wrath of Satan. Why?

Wouldn't the best alternative be to raise millions yourself and direct the great Christian movie yourself? Don't be surprised if they come to bash you next. There's no honor among thieves.

ARE YOU A FRIEND OF THE WORLD OR GOD?

Something to ponder…

"Don't you realize that friendship with the world makes you an enemy of God? I say it again: If you want to be a friend of the world, you make yourself an enemy of God." James 4:4

WOE TO THOSE WHO CALL GOOD EVIL….

I read one critic just bashing 'David and Goliath' left and right – almost calling it evil. Yet the Bible's clear about this:

"Woe to those who call evil good and good evil, who put darkness for light and light for darkness, who put bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter. Woe to those who are wise in their own eyes and clever in their own sight." Isaiah 5:20-21

'David and Goliath' does not have to be eloquent – sorry.

For those Christian critics who bash 'David and Goliath' mercilessly, even the Apostle Paul has a word: "When I came to you, brothers, I did not come with eloquence or superior wisdom as I proclaimed to you the testimony about God." 1 Corinthians 2:1

That's all folks. May you hear the Lord speak to you. My prayer is you'll spend your days wisely. And knowing we are in the end times. The Lord can return tomorrow.