I'm surprised this is not even talked about at all! Who knew there's such a gem of a movie about a civil war in Mexico? This is way better than any war movie I've ever watched out there, whether Christian themed or not!
After all the low rated movies based on the Bible I've seen, like Exodus and Noah, this never even got any hype? Tsk tsk. Well okay this was from 2012 and the other two from 2014 but come on. People should make more movies like this.
The retired Gen. Enrique Gorostieta leading the Cristero army. | Photo source
👓 Main Cast
Here are some of the major cast members:
â—™ Andy GarcÃa plays Enrique Gorostieta
A retired general. He was hired to lead the Cristeros (Soldiers of Christ).
â—™ Oscar Isaac plays Victoriano "El Catorce" (The Fourteen) RamÃrez
One of the first leaders of the Cristeros.
â—™ Mauricio Kuri plays José Sánchez del RÃo
The boy who inspired Enrique to be a better leader.
â—™ Santiago Cabrera as Father Vega
A priest who also became a Cristero leader.
🎥 The Trailer
🔸 Synopsis
A faithless general was hired to lead an army of ordinary people, only to end up really embodying the cause he lead.
🔸 The Review
As usual I didn't know anything about this before I even watched it. Not even the trailer. All I knew is that it's one of those religious movies out there based on an online list. Well I've been watching plenty of those since last year and this is the best among the rest!
â—™ Characters and Story
You know it's a great movie when you wanna watch it again right after you've seen it. 😂 Nevermind if I haven't read the real story yet. 😅
Been watching a lot of Christian talks and webinars since last year. Of course I also watched movies and TV shows. Unlike the previous supposedly Christian themed war films I watched last week, Exodus and Noah is nothing compared to this.
For example, I saw The Mission last year and it was just so-so. Even There Be Dragons wasn't that quite engaging. Those aren't as inspiring as this one. For Greater Glory: The True Story of Cristiada is the cream of the Christian war movie crops in my book.
The brave teen who never gave up on Jesus Christ for anything. | photo source
Nothing comes close to the way it inspires one to be as heroic as the characters. What does it matter if there's not much character development as other critics say when it's got the heart of the matter down pat? It's not about just one person's story, it's about people's fight against freedom of oppression.
It's absurd when a government feels threatened by a two thousand year old religion. There is no contest against God no matter how hard we humans try. Even His beloved and chosen people the Israelites have been punished time and again for disobedience. And some people expect to reign over men without God? 😂 What a feeble excuse.
Father Vega saying mass with the Cristeros. | Photo source
It's like saying your parents must die and actually proceed with imprisoning and torturing them beforehand so you can do everything you wanna do in life. Seriously? 😂 Or how about this, you must kill your conscience, bury your heart and only restrict Catholics so you can be free to do anything you want as a leader of a country. Is that a wise thing to do?
Obviously an angry anti-Catholic atheist was behind it all. Apparently then Mexico President Calles was a freemason, go figure.
As we see in the film, based on true events, that's not something a president or anyone should ever do. Catholics aren't even demanding for a separate country, like what a group of free or rebellious Muslims in certain Philippine Southern provinces are doing. And yet some government leaders feel "threatened"? Come on.
For Greater Glory movie DVD cover. | image source
Ehermmm. Going back to the story, it's at par with Hacksaw Ridge. Although that one focuses on one man, this film focuses on a group of Christian fighters. I just love how it brings out all kinds of emotions and still inspires you to be like them. That's what true entertainment is all about! That's what makes a movie epic!
Everything in this film are what most of the Christian and/or war movies are missing: action, drama, family, love, religion, suspense, villains plus heroism all rolled into one!
The story is commendable despite not having anything supernatural or magical. The characters are relatable, you can really feel the need to fight the oppressors. Think of it like a little bit of the Star Wars series Andor.
Is it just revenge or a fight for freedom? Of course it can be both too for some people. It makes you think, what would you do in each characters' stead? Can you even do what any of them did?
â—™ Acting
This is only the 2nd time I've seen Eva Longoria act in a movie. Yes she's in it, lol. Anyway her acting is subdued alright but in her role as the general's wife, she doesn't shine that much. We also see Oscar Isaac who is commendable as a Cristero leader. Even the boy or teen actor did a good job.
A scene with Enrique and José. Photo By Hana Matsumoto | image source
As for Andy Garcia, his best moments were whenever he acted as a "father" to the unrelated but brave boy. To see a strong, admirable and grown man broken, oh my goodness. He did a terrific acting job!
â—™ Cinematography, Production Design and Music
Excellent, I have no other words to say. It's a total package! This is what great movies should be made of. Everything from the characters, acting and the story elements working together with all the visuals, sound and other effects to create an admirable film. It's just wow!
🔸 Rating
No need for me to break it all down. I give this movie a rating of perfect 10 stars, hands down! It has flaws alright but overall it's great entertainment!
Lol, but it's got an R rating. Therefore I highly recommend everyone watch it except kids to teens because of all the blood, violence, murder and I'll even include the politics. No it's not as gruesome as Saving Private Ryan but maybe it's more? You'll see deaths left and right like Game of Thrones (except for the "Red wedding"). 😂
Have you ever seen or heard of this Cristiada film before? What do you think of it?
