The Forge (2024) review

Dir. Alex Kendrick

By: Steve Pulaski

Rating: ★★

The Forge is technically a spin-off of the Kendrick brothers’ sleeper hit War Room from 2015. That flick was competently acted, but undone by its story, which prioritized proselytizing over entertainment and caricatures instead of characters. Regrettably, but predictably, Karen Abercrombie’s Miss Clara returns here to impart more corny comedy; at least one benefit is that two scenes of her flailing around and shouting her prayers are muted by the film’s score.

The Forge introduces us to Isaiah Wright (Aspen Kennedy), the son of a single mom named Cynthia (Priscilla Shirer) — for context, Cynthia’s sister is Elizabeth from War Room; Shirer also reprises her role for a brief scene here. Isaiah is a surly 19-year-old on the fast-track to the life of a perennial bust-out. With no plans for college, no job, and no prospects outside of video games and pickup basketball, Cynthia demands he find a job and pay rent to live under her roof.

Isaiah heads to a sports equipment factory to look for a job, but assumes his chances of landing one are nonexistent after accidentally mouthing off to the owner, Joshua Moore (Cameron Arnett). To his surprise, Joshua offers to take him out to lunch instead, and then asks him to return when he has the answer to several questions, including what he sees for his future and what kind of man he wants to be.

Soon enough, Isaiah is working a part-time job on the shipping floor while eating breakfast and getting a mentorship in respectability from Joshua, which includes being a man of your word and a crash-course on how to properly shake another man’s hand. Once the conversation turns towards Jesus — this film exists in a time where laws regarding religion in the workplace don’t exist — Isaiah’s ears prick up. Suddenly, his life feels purposeful. Not only does he want to become a follower of Jesus Christ, he desires a role akin to what Joshua is to him and others: a disciple.

Alex and Stephen Kendrick are responsible for more of the compelling faith-based films in recent time. Their stories frequently revolve around common individuals who work hard for what little they have, and are ultimately striving to be morally good, honest folks in both their family life and larger community. In short, in a world of God’s Not Dead films doubling down on the almighty Christian persecution complex, the Kendrick brothers admirably make their pictures about more relatable topics.

The problem is that doesn’t always make them entertaining. The Forge — which gets its name from a biweekly group Joshua hosts for individuals for which he’s mentored over the years — finds itself aggressively boring and preachy during most of the scenes in which Joshua lectures Isaiah about the Bible and Jesus Christ. The relentless monologuing feels like the audience is being taken to Sunday school as opposed to a film that’s duty is to entertain. There’s also some misguided ideologies embedded in what Joshua teaches Isaiah, particularly when he tells him that in order to become a disciple of Christ, something must die. In Joshua’s case, he gave up golf, as he claims it was consuming his life. Isaiah responds by giving up video games, something he clearly loves. On top of reiterating the tired old hat idea that video games are some sort of evil bestowed upon the world, the Kendrick brothers suggest that in order for these men to be dutiful in their Christianity, they must remove something from their lives which gave them great pleasure and enjoyment. You can’t have those things if you want to be a walking vessel for the Lord.

Like in War Room, the performances are uniformly solid. It’s refreshing not only that Aspen Kennedy is a confident young actor, whose performance grows and matures much like his portrayal of Isaiah, but also that he’s not your typical cinematic Black teen who gave his life to gangs before finding Jesus. There’s comfort in that this is the second film from the Kendrick brothers that doesn’t aim to present the Black American experience has something defined by violence and poverty. Cameron Arnett feels like he learned to deliver his monologues by watching Denzel Washington, and there is power in his words, as long-winded as they might be. Priscilla Shirer is more of a supporting player than she was in War Room, but even she consistently impresses.

The third act of The Forge is nothing you’ll see coming. It’s not some dramatic twist nor defined by an unexpected death, but instead involves shipping floor robots and a deadline to preserve one of Joshua’s company’s highest paying clients. That’s the problem when you try to be a morally good businessman in a capitalistic society. You end up preaching the gospel to your employees so ardently and frequently that your clients start to wonder if their orders are aboard an ark lost at sea.

NOTE: It’s been three years since the Kendrick brothers’ last film, Overcomer, and the Christian film landscape has changed significantly. Pinnacle Peak (formerly Pure Flix) has been mostly quiet, and Angel Studios has amassed a legion of followers via their streaming service and their “Pay it Forward” grift. Tis pity the Kendricks end this movie by asking people to “buy one, ten, or even a hundred” tickets to The Forge in order to assure this movie is seen far and wide. No, thank you.

My review of War Room (2015)

Starring: Aspen Kennedy, Cameron Arnett, Priscilla Shirer, T.C. Stallings, Karen Abercrombie, and BJ Arnett. Directed by: Alex Kendrick.