"Heaven is for Real" Review

Heaven is for Real

2.75 out of 5 Stars

Rated PG
The only sexual content is when a wife whispers something in her husband's ear that is implied to be sexual, but the audience does not hear it.
The only violence is a sports injury and a little girl punching some classmates.







Though it is interesting to see a child's vision of life after death, "Heaven is for Real" is an overall bland film that should have been a made-for-tv movie.

Todd Burpo (Greg Kinnear) is a pastor with a lovely wife, Sonja (Kelly Reilly) and two kids, Cassie (Lane Styles) and Colton (Connor Corum). One day Colton gets very ill with appendicitis and is rushed to the hospital. Though he does not die, the boy tells Todd about some experiences he had in heaven while being operated on.

Todd does not know what to believe because he thinks what Colton experienced is impossible. However, Colton has a lot of insight about what went on the day of the operation that he could not have known. Most of the film deals with the doubts that Todd has. 

This was kind of confusing to me. I myself am a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, more commonly referred to as Mormons. For me, it is a no brainer that heaven is real. It is a major point of doctrine in my own church. It only makes sense that a pastor of a Christian church would think the same thing, but that is not the case.

I am more than likely not the only person who would be confused by this, which is why the movie would have been a lot more powerful had there been better set-up of exactly what he believed.

That is the main problem with this film. It does develop the main character, but it does not address what it needs for the story to make sense or even be enjoyable. It portrays Todd as a good family man, but it does not give him much personality besides that. It is the same for most of the characters. Some are given good moments, but they are overall pretty bland, which makes the movie itself a little boring.

I would not say it is a horrible film. There are some parts that make it entertaining. When Colton talks about heaven, it is very interesting to hear what he has to say and to see how the filmmakers envision it. For me, these are great moments because I believe that what the child says is completely possible. The film would have been so much better had it concentrated more on it.

It will probably not convert filmgoers who do not believe in God, but the appeal of seeing a possible view of heaven in a respectful way may be of interest to those who are already religious. For those people, it does not necessarily need to be seen in theatres, but it could be good to watch with the family.