DVD Review: The Way Home

Product Description: A missing child. A family in crisis. A faith tested. In their darkest hour, God gives hope.

Dean Cain stars as Randy Simpkins, a husband and father torn between the demands of his job and family. Asked by his wife to watch their two-year-old son, Joe, for a few minutes, he becomes distracted by work. When he returns, Joe is gone. He and his wife search desperately for their missing son through the vast countryside. But as their fear grows, the community responds – hundreds of supporters uniting behind the family in a powerful spiritual journey that will test the couple’s love and faith, and forever change a community.

My Review: The description of this movie caught my eye. The fact that it was based on a true story made it even more appealing. My husband and I are always on the lookout for good, clean, family friendly movies. So, when I got the opportunity to review this movie, I took it. My husband and I watched it together, as a date night activity. Honestly I was very disappointed.

Let me start off by saying that the cinematography was horrible. The camera angles kept changing, spinning around characters and was generally unsteady. The result: my husband had to spend most of the movie with his head between his knees because he felt ill, sea-sick. I too felt a little nauseous.

Second, there really wasn't a moving plot. The general idea of the story was sound, but I don't know that there was enough there to make a full length film. The scenes relied heavily on emotion, and the search through the woods... zipping by trees and all.

Third, the "spiritual" portions of this film felt forced. The conversations were stilted, and the acting was pretty bad. I understand that most Christian films run on a low budget, and work with what resources are available, but it seems like the "spiritual" portions should be the most authentic in the whole movie. That's just my opinion.

Needless to say, we won't be watching the video again. Not unless I provide a barf bag for my poor husband.

My Rating:

My Recommendation: I would not recommend this movie unless you have taken your motion sickness medication beforehand.

(I received a complimentary copy of this DVD for the purpose of review.)