Machine Gun Preacher
Machine Gun Preacher Image
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Metascore
43 out of 100

Mixed or average reviews - based on 32 Critics What's this?

User Score
7.5 out of 10

Generally favorable reviews- based on 26 Ratings

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  • Summary: When ex-biker-gang member Sam Childers makes the life-changing decision to go to East Africa to help repair homes destroyed by civil war, he is outraged by the unspeakable horrors faced by the region’s vulnerable populace, especially the children. Ignoring the warnings of more experienced aiaide workers, Sam breaks ground for an orphanage where it’s most needed—in the middle of territory controlled by the brutal Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA), a renegade militia that forces youngsters to become soldiers before they even reach their teens. (Relativity Media)
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Critic Reviews

Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 5 out of 32
  2. Mixed: 20 out of 32
  3. Negative: 7 out of 32
  1. Boxoffice Magazine
    Reviewed by: Pete Hammond
    Sep 17, 2011
    80
    The exploitation title may not do it any favors, but this biopic based on the incredible life journey of Sam Childers is gripping, inspirational and well told.
  2. Arizona Republic
    Reviewed by: Bill Goodykoontz
    Sep 29, 2011
    60
    Director Marc Forster moves from one thing to the next so quickly the movie plays like a two-hour-plus trailer. Something feels like it's missing here, even at that length.
  3. Empire
    Reviewed by: David Hughes
    Oct 31, 2011
    60
    It's gratifying to see Butler giving a proper acting role the old college try. Despite his best efforts, Forster's film, while pulling no punches, still somehow manages to miss the mark.
  4. Chicago Tribune
    Reviewed by: Michael Phillips
    Sep 29, 2011
    38
    The events of the movie may be a little bit true, or a lot, but hardly any of it plays that way.

See all 32 Critic Reviews

User Reviews

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Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 7 out of 8
  2. Mixed: 0 out of 8
  3. Negative: 1 out of 8
  1. lachacz
    10
    I am not sure why this movie is rated so low. Absolutely incredible. very moving and varying degrees of emotion. I would call this a must see! Dont be fooled by the low ratings… Expand
  2. Aedrone12
    10
    I don't see how this movie is rated so low, this movie was amazing yet sad and touching at the same time. Gerald Butler was a great actor chosen for this movie. This movie is actually a true story, they are still alive to this day. It's so hard to see good true movies now-a-days.… Expand
  3. Sir_Brandon
    8
    In his best performance yet, Gerard Butler plays a troubled, complex guy who leaves his life of crime for God and becomes a real life hero in Sudan. Machine Gun Preacher is violent and, at times, hard to watch, but the story is inspirational and puts the spotlight on an ordinary man doing extraordinary things. But he is far from subtle and chooses to use a gun to get them done. The film can certainly be upsetting, especially when you see how kids in Sudan are treated and what happens if they disobey. But no matter how gruesome some parts may be, Machine Gun Preacher only shows the audience the brutal truth and the cause that Sam Childers is fighting for.

    Based on a true story and directed by Marc Forster (Monsterâ    … Expand
  4. EatToWatch
    3
    I found this movie very "preachy" and honestly boring. It picks up in the second half, but the first half is so dreadful, why bother? I thought Gerard Butler did a fine job with what he was given, but what he was given was a shallow cartoonish character, who is not only rather uninteresting but unlikable to boot. If you are interested in Africa or the atrocities that have and continue to go on over there, due yourself a favor and find a documentary or other film to satiate your appetite!… Expand

See all 8 User Reviews

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