Plot Summary
David going up against Goliath was the ultimate underdog story, but what could have happened before this face off? David was trained by both the Lord and those around him. What could have prepared him for the great battle? When David finally faced the giant, what occurred change Israel’s history forever.
Production Quality (1.5 points)
For the most part, this rendition of the famous biblical account has a fairly average production. This is due to some shaky cam despite great video and audio quality. Some scenes have poor lighting, but the sets, locations, and props are acceptable. One of the movie’s biggest detractors is its editing as some scenes are quite drawn out. Others are somewhat cut off, and this rounds out an overall middle-of-the-road effort.
Plot and Storyline Quality (.5 point)
This plot is unnecessarily hampered by narration and by a fixation on extended fight scenes that go outside the biblical narrative. These issues also crowd out important sequences of dialogue and cause conversations to be unsubstantial. As such, the characters seem like play actors rather than actual people. Some audience will find there to be too much violence, which may be realistic but is unbalanced in this context. Elsewhere, the pace of the story is quite rushed and doesn’t allow an effective conclusion to develop. This causes a very hollow experience for the viewer even though there are some interesting ideas contained within this narrative, such as the possibility that Samuel trained David for battle and the psychological elements that are ascribed to David. Unfortunately, there are definitely something here, but the idea seemed too forced and rapidly presented. Slowing the process down a bit may have helped this screenplay to gain its footing.
Acting Quality (1.5 points)
The costuming is actually one of the better aspects of this movie. However, the cast isn’t always culturally authentic. At times, the acting is acceptable, but other times, it’s a bit dramatic and theatrical. Emotions and line delivery are inconsistent: sometimes fine and sometimes not. Thus, this section rounds out an unfortunately underwhelming effort.
Conclusion
It seems like David vs. Goliath was made in haste just for the sake of making another Bible film that could have been popular. In doing this, a lot of corners were cut, which always shows up in the finished product. This formula of hacking together a recognizable inspirational title for a quick cash grab is very word out and has seemingly met its demise. In the future, new Christian creators will hopefully learn from the mistakes of the past and correctly apply their God-given talents to produce truly quality projects.
Final Rating: 3.5 out of 10 points
Box Office Revolution 