Directed and co-written by Alex Kendrick. A runtime of two hours and four minutes. With a PG rating.

"Isaiah," played by Aspen Kennedy, just graduated high school and doesn't have a care in the world. "Isaiah" is currently living with his mom, "Cynthia," played by Priscilla C. Shirer. He doesn't have any motivation to do better. All "Isaiah" cares about is his video games and moving to the beat of his drum.

"Isaiah" can't even do the simple task his mother asks him to do. "Cynthia" even tried to get him back involved with the church. But that only came off as her being preachy to him. For lack of better words, he was a disrespectful loser who gave zero; you know what's. Even toward the people he's supposed to care about the most.

After failing to do something his mother asks for the millionth time. "Cynthia" had enough. She told "Isaiah" to get a job or get out. This puts him on the path to meet "Joshua Moore," played by Cameron Arnett, a businessman looking for help.

Reluctant to get this job or take it seriously. "Joshua" takes "Isaiah" under his wing. Helping him become a man unbeknownst to him. Using faith and prayer as the template to help mold him. Then eventually shows him a covenant of men whose sole purpose is to fortify forever bonds and to pay them forward.

"The Forge" was recommended by my friend. I didn't know what it was about or what to expect. For the first twenty minutes, I couldn't stand "Isaiah." I just thought, Wow, what a butthead. Then I thought his mother was better than me because there was no way I was going to be disrespected like that. Especially in my own home.

I had no hope for this character when he met "Joshua." But once he entered the picture, I started to see what type of film this was. Which was a religious one. They tried to give you a not-so-subtle message. They served your vegetables with something smooth to drink so it was easier to digest.

It was better than some other gospel or religious films in that lane. It had a positive message, but it did get a little cheesy at times. It also relayed some unrealistic messaging, in my opinion. I love God, but just because you pray or love God doesn't mean your life will just be better. It doesn't work like that.

Regardless, I still see what they were trying to do. It seemed to come from a good place. On the other side, though, people can relate to giving up their life to God and changing their whole life for the better. Like I said before, I understand what they were trying to convey.

A decent film that was a little cookie-cutter but had an amazing message. I give it a high three mor fires ???. I think anyone in the religious world will give it five mor fires.

#CosmoandtheMovieWithin #CosmoMovieBlog #CosmoLanier #TheForge.

You know I was really surprised. I expected this movie to be a dud. It concerns a young black kid in the hood. Playing video games like all kids.

(Hey I got a in-law who plenty of time for video games and no time for a job).

And he gets a mentor, at the new job. His mother said get a job or pay rent. Now there was a lot of humor in this movie I didn't get. And quite frankly it is way too long. Chop off 40 minutes and it would be much much better.

The acting was good. Also someone was filmed inside a real factory and I really enjoyed that. Anyway probably one time watch for me but pretty good for a Christian movie. I was surprised.

Over the years, the Kendrick brothers have brought Christian movies to the forefront. I wouldn't call myself religious, so I know these movies aren't really aimed toward me. Still, I gotta do my duty as a movie critic and see every movie I'm able to, to feed my never-ending love of movies, and for you guys of course. Their newest movie is actually a spin-off of their earlier film WAR ROOM, which I actually watched afterwards, for research purposes. THE FORGE is a movie about 19-year-old Isaiah (Aspen Kennedy), an irresponsible boy who plays basketball with his friends and plays video games "too much". Raised by a single mom (Priscilla Shirer) who has had it with his bull, gives him 1 month to find a job. This leads Isaiah to meet Joshua (Cameron Arnett), an older man who gives him a job and becomes his mentor, in the company and in life. You can definitely tell the director is a preacher. I know the powerful religious message is important, but it completely overshadows any resemblance of a movie. This felt exactly like WAR ROOM, with lower stakes. Sermons and melodramatic praying out loud for most of it, then they remembered it needs to be more than just a bible study, so they have a nearly impossible task that the company needs to accomplish, or they lose the business. The balance between message and movie was way off to one side. I will say though the acting is very good, leading to me getting a little emotional during some scenes (leave my heartstrings alone). While THE FORGE has many obvious tropes, I think Christians will enjoy this sermon, not as much for film critics. No wonder it doesn't have a critic's score on Rotten Tomatoes yet.