why are all "black" films exactly alike? it's like they all use the same black dictionary to write scripts. does anyone know why everything is so foggy in the beginning. i don't think i've ever been in a hospital with a foggy hallway. anyway, this film is very self righteous. "i was here with your father doing god's work"? what does that even mean? how can you say what god's work is? is god your homeboy? also, you can basically tell how the movie ends about ten minutes in to it and no one in the movie can act very well.however, i don't think this movie deserves to be on the 100 worst list. it's boring and predictable, but not that bad. Plan 9 isn't even on the list, that deserves to be on there way more than this film.p.s. to the people that posted before. the reason this movie got bad reviews on here is because it's a cookie cutter film, not because we dislike christians. honestly, i couldn't care less about Christianity and this film solidifies the fact that i won't be walking in to a church anytime soon.

This was a pretty generic movie. If you like Gospel music this will set the mark. But do not look for anything but a text book prodigal son returns story to go along with the music. I probably could of wrote this review without seeing the movie because of the formula for this sort of the movie is the same the players just change. 1) Two boyhood friends2) Something catastrophic happens to make one of them go astray3) One stays home and basically becomes the either a Priest, A social Worker, a teacher or a policeman or some other pillar of the community.4) The other one either became a harden criminal, or rich and famous who has lost his way and has rejected his previous life5) Something catastrophic brings him home again, Either they are running from the cops. There's a death in the family or a little brother is out of control and is one step away from being on the Top of the FBI's Most Wanted List6) Man returns only to find his best friend is either bitter or or to good to be true. Then neighborhood is in shambles and the Prostitute or the dope fiend at the corner is his ex girlfriend who left when he ran out of town. Oh and a family member is sicker then expected. And a beloved local landmark, be it a church, a park, a movie theater or high school hangout is being threaten with closure or is in shambles7) the ending either consist of the person being captured by police in the case of the criminal, after saintly best friend turns him in. Or he decides to stay and use some of the millions he had made to thwart the beloved place from closing down. And if they do not get their ex girlfriend from turning tricks and taking dope they will fall in love with a new girl. Bitter buddy and him have mended fences. And they all live happily ever after. The End. This movie has a little bit of each of the steps I mentioned with a few variations to the template. I believe the supporting cast was very good and the music was. But the following is a Bad Actor Alert from the Emergency Broadcast System. I loved him on Soul food but Boris Kedjoe was about as convincing as the Singing Nun playing a Usher type R&B star and was equally not convincing as a Gospel singer. That scene at his mothers grave toward the end of movie rivals the bad acting of Vin Diesel. This is a actor who IMO was good and good looking in Soul Food. But something was lacking here. He even looked strangely odd to me. His Co-star Idris Elba from The Wire on the other hand was very good. I think I could watch him in about anything. I would recommend this move for people who love Gospel music. But for me because of the laziness of the script and the absolutely appalling acting from the lead the movie was barely watchable.I wanted to comment on the comments about why people dislike this movie. I liked the Ten Commandments, The Fighting Temptations, Kingdom Come etc. My dislike for this movie had nothing to do with some anti religious sentiment. My dislike with the movie is because it was just a big music video with a generic script wrapped around it. Sort of like those bad Elvis Presley movies like Girls! Girls! Girls! when in the script was just added to the his singing. Being there are so little types of these movies being made I believe a lot of people crave them and are more then willing to over look the ineptness of this movie. We should expect more and demand it.

Hey i think "The Gospel" movie was awesome because i learned a lot from it you know I'm a Christian girl and I was so touched by this movie because i know that sometimes as a Christian you just want to do things your own way but we realism that we can't do anything without Jesus, without accepting Jesus in our lives so i was really touched by this movie and hopefully there will be another one coming out soon. This movie was like the movie "Fighting Temptation" but this movie had a lot of awesome songs man the way the actors were singing it was awesome. I thank you all for making this movie because it shows in the end that life without Jesus is no life at all. So yeah thanks for making this movie it was a real inspiration to me. I encourage people to buy this movie its awesome!

of all the comments here I could deal least with skoptarevich whom I consider doctrinaire. forgiveness and inclusion is the way for me.rules are to guide and nothing else.lots of people seem unable to develop questions like who is Rob hardy and what is his view of things? why would he make make a movie like this and present it to the public? the lack of development of story-lines and all the other "flaws' of Hardy's work here, alluded to by many reviewers, seems not to belie the fact that all they list could not possibly have been been missed by Hardy from the start....Hardy who clearly is a highly competent professional.the end result then has to be exactly what he intended.that intent to me is the presentation of a film that looks great, has an accessible and important message, explores the social reality of African American churches to an extent...but of vast and basic importance here seems the presentation of African Americans in a positive light in their daily lives that is more consistent with everyday reality. it is the way they are and the way the would be all be things being more equal than not.Hardy gives us an impression of African America that is healthy not drug ridden, overflowing with pimps and police, almost naked Blac women shaking their tails over everything. Hardy gave us a cast the most consistent and intriguing feature of which is its normalcy, its normal health and humanity. it is middle class African America, it is a good impression and hardly inaccurate.the music was special, Tamyra Gray special also, Nona Gaye a truly impressive woman, Elba and Powell fine actors, Boris Kodjoe, a presence that contributes mightily to the overall impression of African American humanity that Hardy surely intended to convey first and foremost, at the expense of all the so-called short-comings of the movie.Boris Kudjoe is calm, charming, strong, quiet, tall and unrelentingly good-looking. He did no harm to this movie..indeed made it the excellent whole, fine product that it is.especially during Kodjoes 'rendition' of "God you are good and your mercy endure-th forever," the tremendously rich dark, tan, chocolate, brown tones of the picture drew to mind a descriptive that can only be termed classic - American classic.Yes that is exactly what it is - classical - for it is of original America, the 'original' America of the colonists and slaves, the music that is basic to that America and its creative streams finally I am African but not American, and though brought up a catholic I do not subscribe to any religious conception of things human.Yet I try to understand and accept the conceptions of things otheres hold, how they have achieved their survival and what because of these conceptions. what works for them is fine by me. and when I see such as Gospel I get a glimpse of what works for African Americans, and it is something fine to behold....indeed!