No meta-monsters tearing through buildings, ripping apart bridges, burning everything here and there. This is an accurate depiction of the pain and horror 1000s suffer weekly in accidents just in the USA, much less the globe. What is tough, putting one's self in the role of the damaged man who has seen, paraphrasing Dr Martin Luther King, "The glory of the Lord." That he didn't want to immediately suffer the horrendous pain after experiencing the Afterlife is not a unique story. Others have told it, just not this well. Suffering with him, his wife, the kids, the parents, members of his community, shows the damage such a wreck hoists on the unsuspecting shoulders of each. It can be tedious to heal. This is real life, not a 30-minute sitcom. Nobody asked for this 34 operations and four months lying in a hospital bed. The support of others helping his recovery, his realization that others might just have it tougher in hospital rooms on his floor, all of these things come together for a warm, heartfelt realization of what may be the biggest lesson in this true story: Love is the key, key to living, key to healing, key to leading others to the opportunity ultimately that will be available to all. Not just 90 minutes in a paradise of understanding, but time measured in terms I find difficult to grasp. He was brought back here to share that taste he had through this crippling experience. We are all better for it regardless of one's taste in film.

i'm a very devout Christian, so i like Christian movies. I did not like this one. firstly, i thought it would be about his 90 minutes in heaven.... it wasn't. secondly, there wasn't anything in it about Christianity at all, it was weak, without a message, and didn't reveal anything about heaven, other than he saw people he recognize and that they weren't in any pain..... those of us who are christians have already gathered as much when we read the bible, so i didn't care for this movie at all. it wasn't about heaven, and the storyline was boring. Christian movies that were really good were flywheel, facing the giants, passion of the Christ, god's not dead, jonathan sperry, but this one... i really wanted to like it, but no.

My wife read the book maybe 10 or 11 years ago when it was first out and now we were able to watch the movie on DVD from our public library. It is an excellent human interest story of faith and perseverance. Of course it has a strong Christian theme, he is a minister and prayer plays a big role throughout the movie. But a viewer doesn't need to believe in Christianity or the power of prayer to enjoy the story of the trials of a man and his family recovering from a tragic traffic accident.Don Piper was a minister in the smaller town of Alvin, Texas, just south of Houston. It was 1989, he was returning home in the rain when a truck, driven by a prison system inmate, crossed over to the opposite lane on a 2-lane bridge and caused the wreck. Don was injured so badly that he was declared dead by a medic and the coroner, he had no pulse and he was bent in all kinds of ways a person shouldn't be. But another minister arrived on the scene and asked if he could pray for the dead man, and when he did and started singing, Don, the man declared dead, began to sing softly. He was rushed to a hospital in Huntsville, then later to a better hospital in Houston. He faced many months of hospitalization and numerous surgeries, it was feared he would lose one leg, he became despondent, but his family and friends kept him going.So what is the message here? Many will doubt that he was really dead for 90 minutes, just with a heartbeat so faint that it seemed he was dead. Others will believe he was really dead, he really went to heaven for 90 minutes, and it was a miracle that he came back to life. Regardless which side of that point a viewer is on the movie is worthwhile for the human survival side of it.It is a bit long at 2 hours, the time shown with Don in the hospital perhaps could have been shortened a bit, but overall my wife and I were glad we spent the time. Don and his family are now in Atlanta Georgia, and the movie was filmed in that area. One of the DVD extras features the real Piper family.Don is played very well by Hayden Christensen, and his wife Eva is played well by Kate Bosworth, whose husband incidentally was the director. She commented that making the movie has actually strengthened their marriage.

The movie at best, tells the events in the book. In the tradition of adaptations, it skims over events with little depth. The essence of the story, was to encourage Christians about heaven. The movie however is a medical drama, that serves to educate viewers on hospital affairs.The encounter in heaven, is put at the end of the movie as an after thought. The director choosing to dwell in the emotional scenes featuring the family. The movie has bloopers. The scene where Don advises a young man with fixator, did not involve his family in the audience. Because Don was chaperoning a group of teenagers to an auditorium.The movie did not inspire or show the motivational stories that resulted from Don telling the world his ordeal.It did not even feature a crisis of faith for Don.