Facing the Giants is struggling to keep the school's football program alive. Then, just when things seem like they can't get any worse, a stranger shows up in Grant's office and shares a Scripture verse, saying that the Lord sent him there. Suddenly, it's a whole new ballgame! Grant prays, gets inspired, and revamps his entire philosophy of coaching. His enthusiasm spreads to the whole team, and then the whole school, and suddenly, as Grant notes, it's like a whole new team.
And then there's the theology. An assistant coach twists Jesus' words about the wide and narrow gates to apply to kicking field goals. And despite writer and the director Kendrick's insistence that he's "not a name it and claim it guy," that's just what happens in the movie: After Grant gets right with Jesus, everything goes his way. We won't give away the plot developments, but suffice it to say that every situation that could go either way ends up going the "right" way on and off the field. The "giants" aren't merely faced; they're all slain, and everybody lives happily ever after. Seems a bit like "prosperity gospel" dressed up in helmets and shoulder pads.
The acting is just as bad. Kendrick is at times as wooden as one of George Lucas' actors, at other times so melodramatic that he actually reminds one of Will Ferrell only, he's not trying to be funny. Fields also turns in a performance that somehow manages to be exaggerated and flat at the same time, and most of the grown-up supporting cast members are no better. The younger actors who play the team members give some of the most convincing performances, which helps to highlight the movie's strongest feature when the cheesy dialogue and story shut down and the football kicks in, there's a surprisingly well-done sense of realism here, as the film does an admirable job of capturing the atmosphere of a high school football game.
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