"Courageous" is largely about four deputies in a large sheriff's department in a mixed suburban and metropolitan area. It details some of the dangers, temptations and excitement inherent in their job. However, even more so it shows us how they interact with each other and their families, especially how they deal with tragedy and learn from it.
The film does have some action scenes involving gang violence, arrests and shootouts. As such it is appropriately rated at PG-13 and I would not have brought my 7 year old daughter to it, but think it would be okay for most teenagers. The action scenes are not the bulk of the movie and happen early on to introduce the characters and then more toward the end, by which time I was at the edge of my seat to see who would live or die.
However, as I alluded to before, the action scenes are not the bulk of the movie and take a back seat often to the character interactions. The acting is generally good and the characters believable, with some only slightly over the top humor at times. The humor actually is used nicely to lighten things up a bit as some of the characters are forced to deal with a tragedy in their family.
The storyline is relatively linear, but not totally predictable as the actions of some characters came as quite a surprise to me. As part of this the story was made more believable by some revelations mid-way through the movie about some of the characters that showed their less than perfect lives and values.
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.
By the end of the movie I had cheered on the heroes, laughed at the humor, enjoyed the action scenes and even gotten somewhat teary eyed at parts (during which my wife did some solid crying). Overall I would say that this film was well done, with an engaging story, characters you could believe in and with a storyline that really makes you think hard even when it is over. I had fun with the movie, but also find it challenging as perhaps you will also if you choose to see it.
See original post here : http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1630036/
