The Wager (2007) Reviews

• A good Christian movie

  pc_hall2011-01-04

  This is a low budget movie that looks a bit high budget. (if you can have such a thing). Its well produced & directed. The acting is good. Randy Travis is not a great actor, but he did well for this part. At first, you think "Randy is a bit one dimensional", but then you realize the part he is playing. In fact, the more the movie progresses, the more depth he brings to it. The stunts are of the highest quality, the message is timeless and it is well scripted. One criticism is the length - its a bit too short. But then again, they say a good movie is made on the cutting room floor. Well done to the producers. More please !

• It's the message that counts.

  SmileysWorld2009-05-30

  Let's face it.When it comes to movies that express Christian beliefs and values,you are not going to get the Hollywood heavyweights.There is no one named Depp,Hanks,or Penn.They wouldn't be caught dead anywhere near anything like this.About as good as you are going to get are a country music singer and a few former sitcom actors.With The Wager,it's not about great performances from the actors.As long as they don't just stand around and look like they are reading from cue cards and are giving their best effort,I am satisfied with that.It's not about dazzling special effects.Don't need those.It's about the message,and it is presented well.

• It doesn't need to have much plot!!!

  lerkim2009-01-09

  Now I am not a Christian, I am actually a Buddhist, but this movie isn't that bad as you might think, the story itself is without much deepness, but it doesn't need any deepness. It isn't even that long, and it doesn't really have any huge point in the story where it all changes, it is about the faith of the lost, the faith that must be gained ones more, through a lot of pain, faith give you power, that is what this movie is actually about. About the falling of the kind that trusts in the thing they believe, and the endless beginning of the start of trusting and believing in what you long ago lost. Randy Travis, well what can be said about him, I am actually not a Randy Travis fan if I have to be honest, it isn't because he haven't preformed anything good, it is just that it isn't what I normally follow so I was skeptic about seeing a movie with him. I jumped onto a ticket one of my girl friends had, and saw it with her, the movie didn't change me, but it made me believe that sometimes people just need to believe to hold onto hope, to have faith, and in this movie Randy Travis does just what is needed, he plays this movie really good, I couldn't see anyone else than him playing it, so with saying that he did a good job with this movie, it made me care, even though I am a Buddhist I cared. The soundtrack of the movie isn't that big but for what it is, it surely isn't flawless, but it does have a lot of good tracks on it, and does sets the mood of the movie, even the little turning point where Randy Travis ends up praying, that song was fitting perfectly. The effects of the movie isn't anything to yell about, but this isn't a movie that needs them at all, there are weird flashbacks and other stuff, it doesn't need to be there nevertheless it makes the movie more in debt and you care a little more than normal. I won't argue with the rating, I will put my rating at 8, this reason is that if you see through all the flaws and the little plot line it isn't bad, it has what it needs, it wasn't a big movie and it didn't take long, but it in the end didn't need to, the movie is a perfectly fitted more and does what it does, I will end with this single quote I myself chose to write. We humans need to have faith to believe, to live we must have something to hold on to, It could be anything, but it all starts with trusting.

• It's Pouring on Randy Travis

  bkoganbing2012-04-21

  The Wager casts Randy Travis as an Oscar nominated actor whose career looks pretty bright. But Hollywood is a most fickle employer and just as things are in high gear it all starts falling apart. That old adage of it never rains unless it pours sure applies to Randy Travis. He gets into a creative dispute with the director on his current film Bronson Pinchot and walks off. Then his leading lady Candace Cameron Bure won't get any kanoodling as per Randy's faith. And when Candy sees Randy with a little boy who is just there as part of a big brother program in his house, she jumps to all the wrong prurient conclusions. Randy's deeply religious Christian mother is dying and to top it all off he slugs a bottom feeding gossip columnist. Lindsay Lohan in her best high living days wasn't getting dumped on as bad as Travis nor getting as much bad publicity. In the end though an unseen power pulls Randy out from the depths and actually allows him to be a real life hero instead of a movie one. If you're a believer you know that God is finally answering his prayers. The Wager purportedly about the perils of being a Christian in Hollywood certainly lacks quite a bit of verisimilitude. There's one scene in there where Pastor Matthew Barnett is preaching and tells everyone that prayer is better in solitude and quotes the Scripture toward that end. Apparently Tim Tebow never heard that message. John Hagee the rightwing preacher from San Antonio also appears her delivering sermons on television as Travis seems to get nothing but religious programming when he turns on the tube. Travis has appeared many times in his church, boosting his ministry and Hagee is a part producer of the film. The Wager will certainly resonate well on the Christian circuit, but for general audiences, they won't find it credible.

• Brilliant movie!

  digiteum2018-08-19

  I enjoyed this film immensely and it told a very real story about Hollywood and how it can destroy people. Nothing wrong with a bit of fiction, but this story was more - you don't have to be an A-list star to move people and emotionally take them on a journey - I guess I am sentimental and I cried through parts of the film. It almost appears that non-Christians, atheists can have a field day knocking Christian movies - but there was much more than a religious film here - there was a person experiencing real problems due to the Paparazzi wanting a story at any cost. The ability to knock someone down and pin a rumor on them. This story managed to change the view of the Oscar winner, but in real life sometimes the truth doesn't come out at all. Well worth watching!