Courageous

If you want a drama that takes its characters as seriously as its plot, Courageous is available in the US on Angel Studios and Wonder Project Amazon Channel right now. The length is exactly right for the story it is telling — nothing rushed, nothing dragged out. 416 people have weighed in on TMDB, and the verdict leans heavily positive. Watch it for Ken Bevel — one of the stronger performances out there right now. Available now on Angel Studios — press play and find out why people keep recommending it.

Whatever else is competing for your attention this week, Courageous is worth clearing space for. The writing in Courageous treats its characters as people first, plot devices second. Law enforcement officers Adam Mitchell, Nathan Hayes, and their partners stand up to the worst the streets have to offer with confidence and focus. Yet at the end of the day, they face a challenge that none of them are truly prepared to tackle: fatherhood. They know that God desires to turn the hearts of fathers to their children, but their children are beginning to drift further and further away from them. Ken Bevel and Alex Kendrick lead a cast that brings real weight to the material. It was released in 2011. What elevates Courageous is a refusal to let any character off the hook too easily. The hit rate here is high enough that skipping ahead never feels like an option.

Courageous is what you recommend to people who say they do not really watch much. It rewards viewers regardless of what else is in their watch history. Short enough to finish in one sitting, substantial enough to feel satisfying. Ken Bevel's work here is the kind that gets referenced in career retrospectives. It makes everything else feel thin by comparison.