Thematic
Outside the obvious commentary, there is a competent message of forgivness (at least until the end)
Crowd Pleaser
Cinemascore was an A
Feel Good Movie
Warm and fuzzy with a Multitude of Happy Moments
Rotten Tomatoes 21% Cinemascore: A
The Shack is not as pandering as many of the other faith based films to release in a typical film year, its premise is unique and one of its many message is actually fairly competent and relevant to the plot. However it is also insipidly shot, melodramatically preformed and predictably shallow, accumulating in film thats really, really boring to watch. The tragedy is that The Shack is not a terribly bad story, its just not a well made film despite the context of its existence, and thats what makes this movie ultimately forgettable.
In The Shack, Sam Worthington plays a father, Mack, who sufferes through possibly the worst circumstances imaginable, the loss of his daughter at the hands of a serial killer. He loses touch with his loved ones and becomes increasingly distant, that is until one day he finds a letter in his mailbox that invites him back to the shack he lost track of his daughter. Upon arrival, Mack is greeted by The Father (Spencer) the Son (Alush) and the Holy Spirt (Sumire) who want to help him deal with his grief and accept them back into his life. As Mack stays the weekend with he holy trinity he learns to forgive the actions of the unforgivable as well as finally come to terms with his fatal loss.
As I mentioned in the intro, the premise behind The Shack is actually fairy interesting and its message of forgiveness in spite of hate is potent enough to leave an impact. There is a great scene showing the consequences of judgement and the spiral of self destruction. Unfortunately the movie often tires to have its cake and eat it too. Often questions are adressed with answers vague and inconclusive. Mack is the central protagonist, its his suffering that resonates on a human level, but the bulk of his inner conflict is resolved simply by trusting God; thats simply not compelling conflict. The movie attempts to be a character study of God when it should have been more focused on being a character study of Mack.
The Shack works perfectly well as a Saturday afternoon feel good flick. In the subtitle to this review I compared The Shack to an electric blanket, thats because its a type of article warmth that does all the "feeling good" part for you allowing you to turn off any sort of critical function and enjoy the movie as it instructs you to do so. For many this will give the illusion of a well made movie but as for myself I was bored for most of its two hour run time, annoyed by second grade cinematography and the bright tinted filter that saturates every shot of this film.
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